Methods and apparatus for generating electronic records of locate operations

ABSTRACT

Methods and apparatus for detecting a presence or absence of an underground facility and generating electronic records of locate operations are described herein. An exemplary apparatus includes an actuator and at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the underground facility. The apparatus further includes a processor coupled to a memory, which may at least be further coupled to the at least one receiver antenna. Upon execution of processor-executable instructions stored in the memory, the processor logs in the memory locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna. The processor logs the locate information in response to actuation of the actuator and/or at least one event based at least partially on a characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit, under 35 U.S.C. §119(e), of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/102,122, filed on Oct. 2, 2008, entitled “Combination Locate and Marking Device With a Data Acquisition System Installed Therein, and Associated Methods,” which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Field service operations may be any operation in which companies dispatch technicians and/or other staff to perform certain activities, for example, installations, services and/or repairs. Field service operations may exist in various industries, examples of which include, but are not limited to, network installations, utility installations, security systems, construction, medical equipment, heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) and the like.

An example of a field service operation in the construction industry is a so-called “locate and marking operation,” also commonly referred to more simply as a “locate operation” (or sometimes merely as “a locate”). In a typical locate operation, a locate technician visits a work site in which there is a plan to disturb the ground (e.g., excavate, dig one or more holes and/or trenches, bore, etc.) so as to determine a presence or an absence of one or more underground facilities (such as various types of utility cables and pipes) in a dig area to be excavated or disturbed at the work site. In some instances, a locate operation may be requested for a “design” project, in which there may be no immediate plan to excavate or otherwise disturb the ground, but nonetheless information about a presence or absence of one or more underground facilities at a work site may be valuable to inform a planning, permitting and/or engineering design phase of a future construction project.

In many states, an excavator who plans to disturb ground at a work site is required by law to notify any potentially affected underground facility owners prior to undertaking an excavation activity. Advanced notice of excavation activities may be provided by an excavator (or another party) by contacting a “one-call center”. One-call centers typically are operated by a consortium of underground facility owners for the purposes of receiving excavation notices and in turn notifying facility owners and/or their agents of a plan to excavate. As part of an advanced notification, excavators typically provide to the one-call center various information relating to the planned activity, including a location (e.g., address) of the work site and a description of the dig area to be excavated or otherwise disturbed at the work site.

A locate operation typically is initiated as a result of an excavator providing an excavation notice to a one-call center. An excavation notice also is commonly referred to as a “locate request,” and may be provided by the excavator to the one-call center via an electronic mail message, information entry via a website maintained by the one-call center, or a telephone conversation between the excavator and a human operator at the one-call center. The locate request may include an address or some other location-related information describing the geographic location of a work site at which the excavation is to be performed, as well as a description of the dig area (e.g., a text description), such as its location relative to certain landmarks and/or its approximate dimensions, within which there is a plan to disturb the ground at the work site. One-call centers similarly may receive locate requests for design projects (for which, as discussed above, there may be no immediate plan to excavate or otherwise disturb the ground).

Once underground facilities implicated by the locate request are identified by a one-call center, the one-call center generates a “locate request ticket” (also known as a “locate ticket,” or simply a “ticket”). The locate request ticket essentially constitutes an instruction to inspect a work site and typically identifies the work site of the proposed excavation or design and a description of the dig area, typically lists on the ticket all of the underground facilities that may be present at the work site (e.g., by providing a member code for the facility owner of an underground facility), and may also include various other information relevant to the proposed excavation or design (e.g., the name of the excavation company, a name of a property owner or party contracting the excavation company to perform the excavation, etc.). The one-call center sends the ticket to one or more underground facility owners and/or one or more locate service providers (who may be acting as contracted agents of the facility owners) so that they can conduct a locate and marking operation to verify a presence or absence of the underground facilities in the dig area. For example, in some instances, a given underground facility owner may operate its own fleet of locate technicians, in which case the one-call center may send the ticket to the underground facility owner. In other instances, a given facility owner may contract with a locate service provider to receive locate request tickets and perform a locate and marking operation in response to received tickets on their behalf.

Upon receiving the locate request, a locate service provider or a facility owner (hereafter referred to as a “ticket recipient”) may dispatch a locate technician to the work site of planned excavation to determine a presence or absence of one or more underground facilities in the dig area to be excavated or otherwise disturbed. A typical first step for the locate technician includes utilizing an underground facility “locate device,” which is an instrument or set of instruments (also referred to commonly as a “locate set”) for detecting facilities that are concealed in some manner, such as cables and pipes that are located underground. The locate device is employed by the technician to verify the presence or absence of underground facilities indicated in the locate request ticket as potentially present in the dig area (e.g., via the facility owner member codes listed in the ticket). This process is often referred to as a “locate operation.”

In one example of a locate operation, an underground facility locate device is used to detect electromagnetic fields that are generated by an applied signal provided along a length of a target facility to be identified. In this example, a locate device may include both a signal transmitter to provide the applied signal (e.g., which is coupled by the locate technician to a tracer wire disposed along a length of a facility), and a signal receiver which is generally a hand-held apparatus carried by the locate technician as the technician walks around the dig area to search for underground facilities. FIG. 1A illustrates a conventional locate device 1500 (indicated by the dashed box) that includes a transmitter 1505 and a locate receiver 1510. The transmitter 1505 is connected, via a connection point 1525, to a target object (in this example, underground facility 1515) located in the ground 1520. The transmitter generates the applied signal 1530, which is coupled to the underground facility via the connection point (e.g., to a tracer wire along the facility), resulting in the generation of a magnetic field 1535. The magnetic field in turn is detected by the locate receiver 1510, which itself may include one or more detection antenna (not shown). The locate receiver 1510 indicates a presence of a facility when it detects electromagnetic fields arising from the applied signal 1530. Conversely, the absence of a signal detected by the locate receiver generally indicates the absence of the target facility.

In yet another example, a locate device employed for a locate operation may include a single instrument, similar in some respects to a conventional metal detector. In particular, such an instrument may include an oscillator to generate an alternating current that passes through a coil, which in turn produces a first magnetic field. If a piece of electrically conductive metal is in close proximity to the coil (e.g., if an underground facility having a metal component is below/near the coil of the instrument), eddy currents are induced in the metal and the metal produces its own magnetic field, which in turn affects the first magnetic field. The instrument may include a second coil to measure changes to the first magnetic field, thereby facilitating detection of metallic objects.

In addition to the locate operation, the locate technician also generally performs a “marking operation,” in which the technician marks the presence (and in some cases the absence) of a given underground facility in the dig area based on the various signals detected (or not detected) during the locate operation. For this purpose, the locate technician conventionally utilizes a “marking device” to dispense a marking material on, for example, the ground, pavement, or other surface along a detected underground facility. Marking material may be any material, substance, compound, and/or element, used or which may be used separately or in combination to mark, signify, and/or indicate. Examples of marking materials may include, but are not limited to, paint, chalk, dye, and/or iron. Marking devices, such as paint marking wands and/or paint marking wheels, provide a convenient method of dispensing marking materials onto surfaces, such as onto the surface of the ground or pavement.

FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrate a conventional marking device 50 with a mechanical actuation system to dispense paint as a marker. Generally speaking, the marking device 50 includes a handle 38 at a proximal end of an elongated shaft 36 and resembles a sort of “walking stick,” such that a technician may operate the marking device while standing/walking in an upright or substantially upright position. A marking dispenser holder 40 is coupled to a distal end of the shaft 36 so as to contain and support a marking dispenser 56, e.g., an aerosol paint can having a spray nozzle 54. Typically, a marking dispenser in the form of an aerosol paint can is placed into the holder 40 upside down, such that the spray nozzle 54 is proximate to the distal end of the shaft (close to the ground, pavement or other surface on which markers are to be dispensed).

In FIGS. 1B and 1C, the mechanical actuation system of the marking device 50 includes an actuator or mechanical trigger 42 proximate to the handle 38 that is actuated/triggered by the technician (e.g., via pulling, depressing or squeezing with fingers/hand). The actuator 42 is connected to a mechanical coupler 52 (e.g., a rod) disposed inside and along a length of the elongated shaft 36. The coupler 52 is in turn connected to an actuation mechanism 58, at the distal end of the shaft 36, which mechanism extends outward from the shaft in the direction of the spray nozzle 54. Thus, the actuator 42, the mechanical coupler 52, and the actuation mechanism 58 constitute the mechanical actuation system of the marking device 50.

FIG. 1B shows the mechanical actuation system of the conventional marking device 50 in the non-actuated state, wherein the actuator 42 is “at rest” (not being pulled) and, as a result, the actuation mechanism 58 is not in contact with the spray nozzle 54. FIG. 1C shows the marking device 50 in the actuated state, wherein the actuator 42 is being actuated (pulled, depressed, squeezed) by the technician. When actuated, the actuator 42 displaces the mechanical coupler 52 and the actuation mechanism 58 such that the actuation mechanism contacts and applies pressure to the spray nozzle 54, thus causing the spray nozzle to deflect slightly and dispense paint. The mechanical actuation system is spring-loaded so that it automatically returns to the non-actuated state (FIG. 1B) when the actuator 42 is released.

In some environments, arrows, flags, darts, or other types of physical marks may be used to mark the presence or absence of an underground facility in a dig area, in addition to or as an alternative to a material applied to the ground (such as paint, chalk, dye, tape) along the path of a detected utility. The marks resulting from any of a wide variety of materials and/or objects used to indicate a presence or absence of underground facilities generally are referred to as “locate marks.” Often, different color materials and/or physical objects may be used for locate marks, wherein different colors correspond to different utility types. For example, the American Public Works Association (APWA) has established a standardized color-coding system for utility identification for use by public agencies, utilities, contractors and various groups involved in ground excavation (e.g., red=electric power lines and cables; blue=portable water; orange=telecommunication lines; yellow=gas, oil, steam). In some cases, the technician also may provide one or more marks to indicate that no facility was found in the dig area (sometimes referred to as a “clear”).

As mentioned above, the foregoing activity of identifying and marking a presence or absence of one or more underground facilities generally is referred to for completeness as a “locate and marking operation.” However, in light of common parlance adopted in the construction industry, and/or for the sake of brevity, one or both of the respective locate and marking functions may be referred to in some instances simply as a “locate operation” or a “locate” (i.e., without making any specific reference to the marking function). Accordingly, it should be appreciated that any reference in the relevant arts to the task of a locate technician simply as a “locate operation” or a “locate” does not necessarily exclude the marking portion of the overall process. At the same time, in some contexts a locate operation is identified separately from a marking operation, wherein the former relates more specifically to detection-related activities and the latter relates more specifically to marking-related activities.

Inaccurate locating and/or marking of underground facilities can result in physical damage to the facilities, property damage, and/or personal injury during the excavation process that, in turn, can expose a facility owner or contractor to significant legal liability. When underground facilities are damaged and/or when property damage or personal injury results from damaging an underground facility during an excavation, the excavator may assert that the facility was not accurately located and/or marked by a locate technician, while the locate contractor who dispatched the technician may in turn assert that the facility was indeed properly located and marked. Proving whether the underground facility was properly located and marked can be difficult after the excavation (or after some damage, e.g., a gas explosion), because in many cases the physical locate marks (e.g., the marking material or other physical marks used to mark the facility on the surface of the dig area) will have been disturbed or destroyed during the excavation process (and/or damage resulting from excavation).

Previous efforts at documenting locate operations have focused primarily on locate devices that employ electromagnetic fields to determine the presence of an underground facility. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,576,973, naming inventor Alan Haddy and entitled “Apparatus and Method for Obtaining Geographical Positional Data for an Object Located Underground” (hereafter “Haddy”), is directed to a locate device (i.e., a “locator”) that receives and stores data from a global positioning system (“GPS”) to identify the position of the locate device as an underground object (e.g., a cable) is detected by the locate device. Haddy notes that by recording geographical position data relating to the detected underground object, there is no need to physically mark the location of the underground object on the ground surface, and the recorded position data may be used in the future to re-locate the underground object.

Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 7,319,387, naming inventors Willson et al. and entitled “GPS Interface for Locating Device” (hereafter “Willson”), is directed to a locate device for locating “position markers,” i.e., passive antennas that reflect back RF signals and which are installed along buried utilities. In Willson, a GPS device may be communicatively coupled to the locate device, or alternatively provided as an integral part of the locate device, to store GPS coordinate data associated with position markers detected by the locate device. Electronic memory is provided in the locate device for storing a data record of the GPS coordinate data, and the data record may be uploaded to a remote computer and used to update a mapping database for utilities.

U.S. Publication No. 2006/0282280, naming inventors Stotz et al. and entitled “Ticket and Data Management” (hereafter “Stotz”), also is directed to a locate device (i.e., a “locator”) including a GPS receiver. Upon detection of the presence of a utility line, Stotz' locate device can update ticket data with GPS coordinates for the detected utility line. Once the locate device has updated the ticket data, the reconfigured ticket data may be transmitted to a network.

U.S. Publication No. 2007/0219722, naming inventors Sawyer, Jr. et al. and entitled “System and Method for Collecting and Updating Geographical Data” (hereafter “Sawyer”), is directed to collecting and recording data representative of the location and characteristics of utilities and infrastructure in the field for creating a grid or map. Sawyer employs a field data collection unit including a “locating pole” that is placed on top of or next to a utility to be identified and added to the grid or map. The locating pole includes an antenna coupled to a location determination system, such as a GPS unit, to provide longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of the utility under or next to the end of the locating pole. The data gathered by the field data collection unit is sent to a server to provide a permanent record that may be used for damage prevention and asset management operations.

SUMMARY

Applicants have recognized and appreciated that uncertainties which may be attendant to locate and marking operations may be significantly reduced by collecting various information particularly relating to the marking operation, and in some cases both the marking operation and the corresponding locate operation, rather than merely focusing on information relating to detection of underground facilities via a locate device. In many instances, excavators arriving to a work site have only physical locate marks on which to rely to indicate a presence or absence of underground facilities, and they are not generally privy to information that may have been collected previously during the locate operation. Accordingly, the integrity and accuracy of the physical locate marks applied during a marking operation arguably is significantly more important in connection with reducing risk of damage and/or injury during excavation than the location of where an underground facility was detected via a locate device during a locate operation.

More specifically, Applicants have recognized and appreciated that conventional techniques for using a locate device to detect underground facilities are sometimes tentative and typically iterative in nature, and use of locate devices with GPS capabilities may result in redundant, spurious and/or incomplete geographic location data collection. For example, during a typical locate operation, a technician attempting to locate an underground facility with a locate device often needs to sweep an appreciable area around a suspected underground facility, and make multiple passes with the locate device over the underground facility to obtain meaningful detection signals. Furthermore, the technician often needs to rely significantly on visual observations of the area, including relevant landmarks such as facility connections to buildings, transformer boxes, maintenance/public access points, curbs, sidewalks, roadways, etc., to effectively deduce a sensible path of an underground facility to be located. The foregoing is particularly true if at some point during the locate operation the technician loses a signal from an underground facility in the process of being detected (e.g., due to a broken transmitter circuit path from a damaged tracer wire, and loss of the transmitter's applied signal). In view of the foregoing, it may be readily appreciated that collecting and logging geographic location information throughout this process may result in excessive and/or imprecise data, or in some instances incomplete relevant data (e.g., in the case of signal loss/broken tracer wire), from which it may be difficult to cull the data that is truly complete and representative of where the underground facility ultimately was detected.

Yet, Applicants have recognized and appreciated that collecting location data, such as GPS data, in connection with use of a locate device may be valuable for reasons other than marking a location of an underground facility. For example, the data may be valuable in monitoring the performance of a technician (e.g., by comparing performance to a known “signature” of a technician's historical performance), mapping areas of poor signal strength, or for other reasons. The data may be processed in various manners of use to various parties, depending on their particular interest in a locate operation. In addition, as described further below, the collection of GPS data with respect to both locate and marking operations, as opposed to locate operations alone, may also provide valuable insight and analysis potential with respect to various aspects (e.g., technician performance, comparison to historical data, etc.) of a locate operation.

Furthermore, Applicants have recognized and appreciated that the location at which an underground facility ultimately is detected during a locate operation is not always where the technician physically marks the ground, pavement or other surface during a marking operation; in fact, technician imprecision or negligence, as well as various ground conditions and/or different operating conditions amongst different locate devices, may in some instances result in significant discrepancies between detected location and physical locate marks. Accordingly, having documentation (e.g., an electronic record) of where physical locate marks were actually dispensed (i.e., what an excavator encounters when arriving to a work site) is notably more relevant to the assessment of liability in the event of damage and/or injury than where an underground facility was detected prior to marking.

Examples of marking devices configured to collect some types of information relating specifically to marking operations are provided in U.S. publication no. 2008-0228294-A1, published Sep. 18, 2008, filed Mar. 13, 2007, and entitled “Marking System and Method With Location and/or Time Tracking,” and U.S. publication no. 2008-0245299-A1, published Oct. 9, 2008, filed Apr. 4, 2007, and entitled “Marking System and Method,” both of which publications are incorporated herein by reference. These publications describe, amongst other things, collecting information relating to the geographic location, time, and/or characteristics (e.g., color/type) of dispensed marking material from a marking device and generating an electronic record based on this collected information. Applicants have recognized and appreciated that collecting information relating to both geographic location and color of dispensed marking material provides for automated correlation of geographic information for a locate mark to facility type (e.g., red=electric power lines and cables; blue=portable water; orange=telecommunication lines; yellow=gas, oil, steam); in contrast, in conventional locate devices equipped with GPS capabilities as discussed above, there is no apparent automated provision for readily linking GPS information for a detected facility to the type of facility detected.

In view of marking devices configured to collect information relating specifically to marking operations, Applicants have further appreciated that collecting information relating to both locate operations and corresponding marking operations further facilitates ensuring the accuracy of such operations; to this end, Applicants have recognized that various advantages may be obtained via communication and sharing of information between locate devices and marking devices, and/or combining the respective functionalities of such devices into an integrated instrument.

In view of the foregoing, various inventive embodiments disclosed herein relate generally to systems, methods and apparatus for collecting, logging (electronically storing), formatting, processing, and/or electronically analyzing a variety of information relating to both locate operations and marking operations. More specifically, some exemplary embodiments described herein are directed to systems, methods and apparatus for acquiring information relating to both locate operations and marking operations, generating comprehensive electronic records of the acquired information, and storing and/or transmitting one or more electronic records for subsequent access, processing and/or analysis.

One illustrative embodiment of the various concepts discussed herein is directed to a combined locate and marking apparatus configured to perform various functions attendant to both locate and marking operations and configured to generate electronic records of both locate information and marking information relating to these respective operations.

During and/or following collection and/or storage of locate information and/or marking information, data compiled in one or more electronic records of acquired information may be accessed, processed and/or analyzed to provide further information relating to the performance of the locate and marking operation. For example, in other embodiments disclosed herein, data from one or more electronic records of locate information and/or marking information is processed so as to electronically render (visually recreate) various aspects of the locate and/or marking operations (e.g., on a display device associated with the combined locate and marking apparatus or other display device).

In sum, one embodiment of the present invention is directed to a combination locate and marking apparatus. The apparatus comprises an actuation mechanism to control dispensing of a marking material, at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from a target object, a memory to store processor-executable instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory and the at least one receiver antenna. Upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the memory locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna and/or marking information relating at least in part to the marking material.

Another embodiment is directed to a combined locate and marking apparatus for logging information relating to a locate and marking operation for at least one underground facility. The apparatus comprises an actuator to dispense a marking material so as to form at least one locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility, and at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility. The apparatus further comprises at least one input device to provide locate information regarding the locate operation and/or marking information regarding the marking operation, the locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna and the marking information relating at least in part to the marking material. The apparatus further comprises a mode selector device to facilitate selection of a locate mode and a marking mode for the apparatus, a memory to store processor-executable instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory, the mode selector device, the at least one input device, the at least one receiver antenna, and the actuator. Upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor: 1) when the apparatus is in the marking mode, the processor logs in the memory, in response to at least one actuation of the actuator, at least some of the marking information provided by the at least one input device; and 2) when the apparatus is in the locate mode, the processor logs in the memory at least some of the locate information provided by the at least one input device.

Another embodiment is directed to a method for performing a locate and marking operation for at least one underground facility using a combined locate and marking apparatus. The method comprises A) detecting, via at least one receiver antenna of the apparatus, a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility; B) dispensing a marking material from the apparatus so as to form at least one locate mark on ground, pavement or other surface to mark the presence or the absence of the at least one underground facility; and C) logging into local memory of the apparatus locate information relating at least in part to A) and/or marking information relating at least in part to B).

Another embodiment is directed to a method for providing on a display device an electronic rendering of a locate and marking operation to locate at least one underground facility and mark on ground, pavement, or other surface a presence or an absence of the at least one underground facility. The method comprises: A) accessing an electronic record of the locate and marking operation, the electronic record comprising a first data set associated with detection of the at least one underground facility and a second data set associated with a corresponding locate mark, wherein the first data set comprises a first piece of geographic information corresponding to a location at which the at least one underground facility was detected and wherein the second data set comprises a second piece of geographic information for the corresponding locate mark; and B) displaying on the display device at least one electronic detection mark and at least one electronic locate mark, based at least in part on the first and second pieces of geographic information.

Another embodiment is directed to at least one computer-readable storage medium storing an electronic record of a locate operation and a corresponding marking operation. The electronic record comprises at least one data set comprising a first field including locate information relating to detection of at least one first underground facility during the locate operation, and a second field including marking information relating to dispensing a marking material during the corresponding marking operation. In various aspects, one or both of the locate information and the marking information comprises geographic information indicative of a location at which the at least one underground facility was detected during the locate operation and marked during the corresponding marking operation. In another aspect, a machine is constituted by the at least one computer-readable storage medium in combination with at least one processor, wherein the at least one computer-readable storage medium further stores processor-executable instructions, and wherein the processor, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions, accesses at least one of the first field and the second field. In yet another aspect, upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the at least one processor displays on a display device at least one electronic locate mark to provide an electronic rendering of the locate operation and/or the corresponding marking operation, based at least in part on the locate information in the first field and/or the marking information in the second field.

Another embodiment is directed to an apparatus for detecting a presence or absence of a target object. The apparatus comprises an actuator, at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the target object, a memory to store processor-executable instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory and the at least one receiver antenna. Upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the memory locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna, wherein the processor is configured to log the locate information in the memory in response to: (i) actuation of the actuator; or (ii) at least one event based at least partially on a characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.

Another embodiment is directed to a locate device for logging locate information relating to a locate operation for at least one underground facility. The apparatus comprises an actuator and at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility, wherein the locate information includes magnetic field information based on the detected magnetic field. The apparatus further comprises at least one input device to provide geographic information regarding the locate operation, wherein the locate information further includes the geographic information. The apparatus further comprises a memory to store processor-executable instructions, and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one input device, the at least one receiver antenna, and the actuator. Upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, and in response to actuation of the actuator, the processor logs in the memory at least some of the locate information provided by the at least one input device and the at least one receiver antenna.

Another embodiment is directed to a method for performing a locate operation for at least one underground facility using a locate apparatus. The method comprises: A) detecting, via at least one receiver antenna of the apparatus, a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility; and B) logging into local memory of the apparatus locate information relating at least in part to A), wherein B) is performed in response to actuating an actuator or detecting at least one event based at least in part on a characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.

Another embodiment is directed to a method for providing on a display device an electronic rendering of a locate operation to locate at least one underground facility. The method comprises: A) accessing an electronic record of the locate operation, the electronic record comprising a first data set associated with detection of the at least one underground facility by a locate receiver, wherein the first data set comprises a first piece of geographic information corresponding to a location at which the at least one underground facility was detected; and B) for the first data set of the electronic record, displaying on the display device at least one electronic detection mark based at least in part on the first piece of geographic information.

Another embodiment is directed to at least one computer-readable storage medium storing an electronic record of a locate operation, the electronic record comprising at least one data set comprising: a first field including information relating to a magnetic field detected during the locate operation; a second field including geographical information about a location of a locate receiver used in the locate operation; and a third field including timing information about a time at which an actuator of the locate receiver was actuated.

Another embodiment is directed to a locate device to perform a locate operation to detect a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility. The locate device comprises: an actuation system; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and the actuation system, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor provides an output stream of data packets, each data packet including at least one flag field that is set or reset upon at least one actuation of the actuation system, wherein at least some of the data packets include locate information relating to the locate operation.

Another embodiment is directed to a method for providing locate information relating to a locate operation to detect a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the method comprising: A) effecting at least one actuation of an actuation system of a locate device to log the locate information; and B) providing an output stream of data packets, each data packet including at least one flag field that is set or reset upon the at least one actuation of the at least one actuation system, wherein at least some of the data packets include the locate information.

Another embodiment is directed to a data acquisition system, comprising: a locate device comprising at least one receiver antenna configured to detect a magnetic field from a target object, the locate device further comprising a first memory to store locate information based at least in part on operation of the at least one receiver antenna; and a marking device distinct from the locate device and comprising an actuation mechanism to control dispensing of a marking material to mark a location of the target object, the marking device further comprising a second memory to store marking information relating at least in part to the marking material, wherein the locate device is communicatively coupled to the marking device to exchange at least one of the locate information and the marking information.

For purposes of the present disclosure, the term “dig area” refers to a specified area of a work site within which there is a plan to disturb the ground (e.g., excavate, dig holes and/or trenches, bore, etc.), and beyond which there is no plan to excavate in the immediate surroundings. Thus, the metes and bounds of a dig area are intended to provide specificity as to where some disturbance to the ground is planned at a given work site. It should be appreciated that a given work site may include multiple dig areas.

The term “facility” refers to one or more lines, cables, fibers, conduits, transmitters, receivers, or other physical objects or structures capable of or used for carrying, transmitting, receiving, storing, and providing utilities, energy, data, substances, and/or services, and/or any combination thereof. The term “underground facility” means any facility beneath the surface of the ground. Examples of facilities include, but are not limited to, oil, gas, water, sewer, power, telephone, data transmission, cable television (TV), and/or internet services.

The term “locate device” refers to any apparatus and/or device, used alone or in combination with any other device, for detecting and/or inferring the presence or absence of any facility, including without limitation, any underground facility. In various examples, a locate device may include both a locate transmitter and a locate receiver (which in some instances may also be referred to collectively as a “locate instrument set,” or simply “locate set”).

The term “marking device” refers to any apparatus, mechanism, or other device that employs a marking dispenser for causing a marking material and/or marking object to be dispensed, or any apparatus, mechanism, or other device for electronically indicating (e.g., logging in memory) a location, such as a location of an underground facility. Additionally, the term “marking dispenser” refers to any apparatus, mechanism, or other device for dispensing and/or otherwise using, separately or in combination, a marking material and/or a marking object. An example of a marking dispenser may include, but is not limited to, a pressurized can of marking paint. The term “marking material” means any material, substance, compound, and/or element, used or which may be used separately or in combination to mark, signify, and/or indicate. Examples of marking materials may include, but are not limited to, paint, chalk, dye, and/or iron. The term “marking object” means any object and/or objects used or which may be used separately or in combination to mark, signify, and/or indicate. Examples of marking objects may include, but are not limited to, a flag, a dart, and arrow, and/or an RFID marking ball. It is contemplated that marking material may include marking objects. It is further contemplated that the terms “marking materials” or “marking objects” may be used interchangeably in accordance with the present disclosure.

The term “locate mark” means any mark, sign, and/or object employed to indicate the presence or absence of any underground facility. Examples of locate marks may include, but are not limited to, marks made with marking materials, marking objects, global positioning or other information, and/or any other means. Locate marks may be represented in any form including, without limitation, physical, visible, electronic, and/or any combination thereof.

The terms “actuate” or “trigger” (verb form) are used interchangeably to refer to starting or causing any device, program, system, and/or any combination thereof to work, operate, and/or function in response to some type of signal or stimulus. Examples of actuation signals or stimuli may include, but are not limited to, any local or remote, physical, audible, inaudible, visual, non-visual, electronic, mechanical, electromechanical, biomechanical, biosensing or other signal, instruction, or event. The terms “actuator” or “trigger” (noun form) are used interchangeably to refer to any method or device used to generate one or more signals or stimuli to cause or causing actuation. Examples of an actuator/trigger may include, but are not limited to, any form or combination of a lever, switch, program, processor, screen, microphone for capturing audible commands, and/or other device or method. An actuator/trigger may also include, but is not limited to, a device, software, or program that responds to any movement and/or condition of a user, such as, but not limited to, eye movement, brain activity, heart rate, other data, and/or the like, and generates one or more signals or stimuli in response thereto. In the case of a marking device or other marking mechanism (e.g., to physically or electronically mark a facility or other feature), actuation may cause marking material to be dispensed, as well as various data relating to the marking operation (e.g., geographic location, time stamps, characteristics of material dispensed, etc.) to be logged in an electronic file stored in memory.

The terms “locate and marking operation,” “locate operation,” and “locate” generally are used interchangeably and refer to any activity to detect, infer, and/or mark the presence or absence of an underground facility. In some contexts, the term “locate operation” is used to more specifically refer to detection of one or more underground facilities, and the term “marking operation” is used to more specifically refer to using a marking material and/or one or more marking objects to mark a presence or an absence of one or more underground facilities. The term “locate technician” refers to an individual performing a locate operation. A locate and marking operation often is specified in connection with a dig area, at least a portion of which may be excavated or otherwise disturbed during excavation activities.

The term “user” refers to an individual utilizing a locate device and/or a marking device and may include, but is not limited to, land surveyors, locate technicians, and support personnel.

The terms “locate request” and “excavation notice” are used interchangeably to refer to any communication to request a locate and marking operation. The term “locate request ticket” (or simply “ticket”) refers to any communication or instruction to perform a locate operation. A ticket might specify, for example, the address or description of a dig area to be marked, the day and/or time that the dig area is to be marked, and/or whether the user is to mark the excavation area for certain gas, water, sewer, power, telephone, cable television, and/or some other underground facility. The term “historical ticket” refers to past tickets that have been completed.

The term “complex event processing (CEP)” refers to a software and/or hardware-implemented (e.g., facilitated by a computer system, distributed computer system, computational analysis coded in software, and/or a combination thereof) technique relating to recognizing one or more events, patterns of events, or the absence of an event or pattern of events, within one or more input streams of information and performing one or more actions and/or computations in response to such recognition, in accordance with specified rules, criteria, algorithms, or logic. CEP generally involves detection of relationships between information contained in input streams (which input membership, timing, event-driven processes, detection of complex patterns of one or more events, event streams processing, event correlation and abstraction, and/or event hierarchies. CEP may complement and contribute to technologies such as, but not limited to, service oriented architecture (SOA), event driven architecture (EDA), and/or business process management (BPM). CEP allows the information contained in the events flowing through all of the layers of a service business, an enterprise information technology infrastructure and/or management operation to be discovered, analyzed, and understood in terms of its impact on management goals and business processes, and acted upon in real time or as a management process.

The following U.S. published application are hereby incorporated herein by reference:

U.S. publication no. 2008-0228294-A1, published Sep. 18, 2008, filed Mar. 13, 2007, and entitled “Marking System and Method With Location and/or Time Tracking;”

U.S. publication no. 2008-0245299-A1, published Oct. 9, 2008, filed Apr. 4, 2007, and entitled “Marking System and Method;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0013928-A1, published Jan. 15, 2009, filed Sep. 24, 2008, and entitled “Marking System and Method;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0202101-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 12, 2008, and entitled “Electronic Manifest of Underground Facility Locate Marks;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0202110-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Sep. 11, 2008, and entitled “Electronic Manifest of Underground Facility Locate Marks;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0201311-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Jan. 30, 2009, and entitled “Electronic Manifest of Underground Facility Locate Marks;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0202111-A1, published Aug. 31, 2009, filed Jan. 30, 2009, and entitled “Electronic Manifest of Underground Facility Locate Marks;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0204625-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 5, 2009, and entitled “Electronic Manifest of Underground Facility Locate Operation;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0204466-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Sep. 4, 2008, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0207019-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Apr. 30, 2009, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0210284-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Apr. 30, 2009, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0210297-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Apr. 30, 2009, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0210298-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Apr. 30, 2009, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0210285-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Apr. 30, 2009, and entitled “Ticket Approval System For and Method of Performing Quality Control In Field Service Applications;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0204238-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 2, 2009, and entitled “Electronically Controlled Marking Apparatus and Methods;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0208642-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Feb. 2, 2009, and entitled “Marking Apparatus and Methods For Creating an Electronic Record of Marking Operations;”U.S. publication no. 2009-0210098-A1, published Aug. 20, 2009, filed Feb. 2, 2009, and entitled “Marking Apparatus and Methods For Creating an Electronic Record of Marking Apparatus Operations;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0201178-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 2, 2009, and entitled “Methods For Evaluating Operation of Marking Apparatus;”

U.S. publication no. 2009-0202112-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 11, 2009, and entitled “Searchable Electronic Records of Underground Facility Locate Marking Operations;” and

U.S. publication no. 2009-0204614-A1, published Aug. 13, 2009, filed Feb. 11, 2009, and entitled “Searchable Electronic Records of Underground Facility Locate Marking Operations.”

It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. It should also be appreciated that terminology explicitly employed herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates a conventional locate instrument set (locate device) including a transmitter and a receiver;

FIGS. 1B and 1C illustrate a conventional marking device in a non-actuated and actuated state, respectively;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a data acquisition system according to one embodiment of the present invention for creating electronic records of marking operations based on actuations of a marking device;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the data acquisition system of FIG. 2, illustrating an exemplary marking device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a portion of an actuation system of the marking device of FIG. 3 according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates various components of an actuation system 120 according to other embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an exemplary marking device being used for marking a dotting pattern, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary marking device being used for marking a lines pattern, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view that shows further details of the lines pattern of FIG. 7, in connection with the information acquired for purposes of creating an electronic record according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for collecting marking information for generation of an electronic record, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary data structure for an electronic record of a marking operation including information retrieved during one or more actuations of a marking device, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 11A and 11B conceptually illustrate a portion of an actuation system of a marking device including a mechanical coupler, in which the marking device has been modified to accommodate a landmark mode, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for operating a marking device having a marking mode and a landmark mode so as to collect marking information and/or environmental landmark information, and generate an electronic record of such information, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an exemplary data structure for an electronic record of a marking operation including both marking information and landmark information retrieved during actuations of a marking device, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate a functional block diagram and perspective view, respectively, of a data acquisition system including a locate receiver, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 16 illustrates a data acquisition system comprising a locate receiver communicatively coupled to a marking device, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate a functional block diagram and a perspective view, respectively, of a data acquisition system including a combination locate and marking device, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 19 and 20 illustrate two non-limiting illustrative methods, according to embodiments of the present invention, which may employ a combination locate and marking device as described herein;

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram of an exemplary method for displaying a visual representation of a marking operation in a display field having a predetermined scale, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22 is an example of a visual representation showing electronic locate marks based on collected data corresponding to respective actuations of a marking device or a combined locate and marking device during marking operations, according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is an example of another visual representation of marking operations, according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 24 is an example of another visual representation of marking operations, according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which electronic locate marks are overlaid on a digital image of a work site/dig area.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Following below are more detailed descriptions of various concepts related to, and embodiments of, inventive systems, methods and apparatus for generating electronic records of locate operations and marking operations. It should be appreciated that various concepts introduced above and discussed in greater detail below may be implemented in any of numerous ways, as the disclosed concepts are not limited to any particular manner of implementation. Examples of specific implementations and applications are provided primarily for illustrative purposes.

I. OVERVIEW

Locate information associated with a locate operation, as well as marking information associated with a marking operation, may respectively and collectively provide valuable insight into the execution of these operations by a technician and the integrity and accuracy of these operations, and further may be useful in assessing subsequent damage to underground facilities or for reducing/mitigating potential damage to facilities, property damage, and/or personal injury.

Accordingly, various embodiments discussed herein relate generally to: 1) marking devices that generate, store and/or transmit electronic records of marking information; 2) locate devices that generate, store and/or transmit electronic records of locate information; 3) locate devices and marking devices that communicate with each other (and optionally with other devices or systems) to share/exchange locate information and marking information; 4) a combined locate and marking apparatus that constitutes an integrated device capable of various functionality germane to respective locate and marking devices, and configured for generating electronic records of both locate information and marking information; and 5) various methods for analyzing and processing locate information and/or marking information, including computer-implemented methods for visually rendering (e.g., in a display field of a display device) various aspects of locate and marking operations.

The sections set forth below in turn provide detailed descriptions of these respective topics.

II. MARKING DEVICE FOR GENERATING ELECTRONIC RECORDS OF MARKING OPERATIONS

FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate a functional block diagram and perspective view, respectively, of one example of a data acquisition system 100, including a marking device 110 and optionally a remote computer 150, according to one embodiment of the present invention. One or both of the marking device 110 and the remote computer 150 of the data acquisition system 100 may be configured to sense one or more actuations of the marking device 110 (e.g., to dispense marking material during a marking operation), and collect information based on one or more actuations of the marking device so as to generate an electronic record.

As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment marking device 110 includes control electronics 112, the components of which are powered by a power source 114. Power source 114 may be any power source that is suitable for use in a portable device, such as, but not limited to, one or more rechargeable batteries, one or more non-rechargeable batteries, a solar photovoltaic panel, a standard AC power plug feeding an AC-to-DC converter, and the like.

The marking device 110 is configured to hold a marking dispenser 116, which as shown in FIG. 3 is loaded into a marking material holder 140 of the marking device 110. In one exemplary implementation, the marking dispenser 116 is an aerosol paint canister that contains paint; however, it should be appreciated that the present invention is not limited in this respect, as a marking material dispensed by the marking device 110 may be any material, substance, compound, and/or element, used to mark, signify, and/or indicate. Examples of marking materials may include, but are not limited to, paint, chalk, dye, and/or marking powder.

As also shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment control electronics 112 of marking device 110 may include, but are not limited to, a processor 118, at least a portion of an actuation system 120 (another portion of which may include one or more mechanical elements), a local memory 122, a communication interface 124, a user interface 126, a timing system 128, and a location tracking system 130.

The processor 118 may be any general-purpose processor, controller, or microcontroller device. Local memory 122 may be any volatile or non-volatile data storage device, such as, but not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) device and a removable memory device (e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, a multimedia card (MMC), a secure digital card (SD), a compact flash card (CF), etc.). As discussed further below, the local memory may store a marking data algorithm 134, which may be a set of processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor 118 causes the processor to control various other components of the marking device 110 so as to generate an electronic record 135 of a marking operation, which record also may be stored in the local memory 122 and/or transmitted in essentially real-time (as it is being generated) or after completion of a marking operation to a remote device (e.g., remote computer 150).

In one exemplary implementation, a Linux-based processing system for embedded handheld and/or wireless devices may be employed in the marking device 110 to implement various components of the control electronics 112. For example, the Fingertip4™ processing system, including a Marvell PXA270 processor and available from InHand Electronics, Inc. (www.inhandelectronics.com/products/fingertip4), may be used. In addition to the PXA270 processor (e.g., serving as the processor 118), the Fingertip4™ includes flash memory and SDRAM (e.g., serving as local memory 122), multiple serial ports, a USB port, and other I/O interfaces (e.g., to facilitate interfacing with one or more input devices and other components of the marking device), supports a variety of wired and wireless interfaces (WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, Ethernet, any IEEE 802.11 interface, or any other suitable wireless interface) to facilitate implementation of the communication interface 124, and connects to a wide variety of LCD displays (to facilitate implementation of a user interface/display).

Communication interface 124 of marking device 110 may be any wired and/or wireless communication interface by which information may be exchanged between marking device 110 and an external or remote device, such as a remote computing device that is elsewhere in the dig area (i.e., not a part of the marking device 110) or outside the dig area. For example, data that is provided by components of data acquisition system 100 and/or stored in local memory 122 (e.g., one or more electronic records 135) may be transmitted via communication interface 124 to a remote computer, such as remote computer 150, for processing. Examples of wired communication interfaces may include, but are not limited to, USB ports, RS232 connectors, RJ45 connectors, Ethernet, and any combination thereof. Examples of wireless communication interfaces may include, but are not limited to, an Intranet connection, Internet, Bluetooth® technology, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max, IEEE 802.11 technology (e.g., operating at a minimum bandwidth of 54 Mbps, or any other suitable bandwidth), radio frequency (RF), Infrared Data Association (IrDA) compatible protocols, Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Shared Wireless Access Protocol (SWAP), any combination thereof, and other types of wireless networking protocols. The wireless interface may be capable of capturing signals that reflect a user's intent. For example, the wireless interface may include a microphone that can capture a user's intent by capturing the user's audible commands. Alternatively, the wireless interface may interact with a device that monitors a condition of the user, such as eye movement, brain activity, and/or heart rate.

User interface 126 of marking device 110 may be any mechanism or combination of mechanisms by which a user may operate data acquisition system 100 and by which information that is generated by data acquisition system 100 may be presented to the user. For example, user interface 126 may include, but is not limited to, a display device (including integrated displays and external displays, such as Heads-Up Displays (HUDs)), a touch screen, one or more manual pushbuttons, a microphone to provide for audible commands, one or more light-emitting diode (LED) indicators, one or more toggle switches, a keypad, an audio output (e.g., speaker, buzzer, and alarm), and any combination thereof. In one implementation, the user interface 126 includes a “menu/on” button to power up the marking device and provide a menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI) displayed by the display device (e.g., menu items and/or icons displayed on the display device) and navigated by the technician via a joystick or a set of four “up/down/left/right” buttons, as well as a “select/ok” button to take some action pursuant to the selection of a menu item/icon. As described below, the display may also be used in some embodiments of the invention to display information relating to a placement of marking material in a dig area, a location of an underground facility in a dig area, or any other suitable information that may be displayed based on information acquired to create an electronic record 135.

In various embodiments, the one or more interfaces of the marking device 110—including the communication interface 124 and user interface 126—may be used as input devices to receive information to be stored in the memory 122 as part of an electronic record of a marking operation. In some cases, marking information received via the interface(s) (e.g., via the communication interface 124) may include ticket information regarding underground facilities to be marked during a marking operation. As another example, using an interface such as the user interface 126, service-related information may be input, including an identifier for the marking device used by the technician, an identifier for a technician, and/or an identifier for the technician's employer. Alternatively, some or all of the service-related information similarly may be received via the communication interface 124 (and likewise some or all of the ticket information may be received via the user interface 126).

The actuation system 120 of marking device 110 shown in the block diagram of FIG. 2 may include both electrical and mechanical elements according to various embodiments discussed in further detail below, and for purposes of illustration is shown in FIG. 2 as included as part of the control electronics 112. The actuation system 120 may include a mechanical and/or electrical actuator mechanism (e.g., see the actuator 142 shown in FIG. 3) to provide one or more signals or stimuli as an input to the actuation system 120. Upon receiving one or more signals or stimuli (e.g., actuation/triggering by a locate technician or other user), the actuation system 120 causes marking material to be dispensed from marking dispenser 116. In various embodiments, the actuation system 120 may employ any of a variety of mechanical and/or electrical techniques (e.g., one or more switches or other circuit components, a dedicated processor or the processor 118 executing instructions, one or more mechanical elements, various types of transmitters and receivers, or any combination of the foregoing), as would be readily appreciated by those of skill in the relevant arts, to cause the marking dispenser 116 to dispense marking material in response to one or more signals or stimuli. The actuation system 120 also provides one or more output signals in the form of an actuation signal 121 to the processor 118 to indicate one or more actuations of the marking device, in response to which the processor 118 may acquire/collect various marking information and log data into the electronic record 135. Additional details of exemplary actuation system implementations are provided below in connection with FIGS. 3 through 5.

In some embodiments, the actuation system 120 may be configured so as not to cause marking material to be dispensed from marking dispenser 116 in response to one or more signals or stimuli; rather, the actuation system may merely facilitate a logging of data from one or more input devices in response to operation of an actuator/trigger, without necessarily dispensing marking material. In some instances, this may facilitate “simulation” of a marking operation (i.e., simulating the dispensing of marking material) by providing an actuation signal 121 to the processor 118 indicating one or more simulated actuation events, in response to which the processor may cause the logging of various data for creating an electronic record without any marking material actually being dispensed.

Location tracking system 130 of marking device 110 constitutes another type of input device that provides marking information, and may include any device that can determine its geographical location to a certain degree of accuracy. For example, location tracking system 130 may include a global positioning system (GPS) receiver or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver. A GPS receiver may provide, for example, any standard format data stream, such as a National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) data stream, or other data formats. An error correction component 131 may be, but is not limited to, any mechanism for improving the accuracy of the geographic information provided by location tracking system 130; for example, error correction component 131 may be an algorithm for correcting any offsets (e.g., due to local disturbances in the atmosphere) in the geo-location data of location tracking system 130. While shown as part of a local location tracking system of the marking device 110, error correction component 131 alternatively may reside at a remote computing device, such as remote computer 150. In other embodiments, location tracking system 130 may include any device or mechanism that may determine location by any other means, such as performing triangulation by use of cellular radiotelephone towers.

In one exemplary implementation, the location tracking system 130 may include an ISM300F2-C5-V0005 GPS module available from Inventek Systems, LLC of Westford, Mass. (see www.inventeksys.com/html/ism300f2-c5-v0005.html). The Inventek GPS module includes two UARTs (universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter) for communication with the processor 118, supports both the SIRF Binary and NMEA-0183 protocols (depending on firmware selection), and has an information update rate of 5 Hz. A variety of geographic location information may be requested by the processor 118 and provided by the GPS module to the processor 118 including, but not limited to, time (coordinated universal time—UTC), date, latitude, north/south indicator, longitude, east/west indicator, number and identification of satellites used in the position solution, number and identification of GPS satellites in view and their elevation, azimuth and SNR values, and dilution of precision values. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that in some implementations the location tracking system 130 may provide a wide variety of geographic information as well as timing information (e.g., one or more time stamps) to the processor 118.

In another embodiment, location tracking system 130 may not reside locally on marking device 110. Instead, location tracking system 130 may reside on any on-site computer, which serves as a location reference point, to which the location of marking device 110 may be correlated by any other means, such as, but not limited to, by a triangulation technique between the on-site computer and marking device 110.

With respect to other input devices of the marking device 110 that may provide marking information, the control electronics 112 may also include a timing system 128 having an internal clock (not shown), such as a crystal oscillator device, for processor 118. Additionally, timing system 128 may include a mechanism for registering time with a certain degree of accuracy (e.g., accuracy to the minute, second, or millisecond) and may also include a mechanism for registering the calendar date. In various implementations, the timing system 128 may be capable of registering the time and date using its internal clock, or alternatively timing system 128 may receive its time and date information from the location tracking system 130 (e.g., a GPS system) or from an external timing system, such as a remote computer or network, via communication interface 124. In yet other implementations, a dedicated timing system for providing timing information to be logged in an electronic record 135 may be optional, and timing information for logging into an electronic record may be obtained from the location tracking system 130 (e.g., GPS latitude and longitude coordinates with a corresponding time stamp). Timing information may include, but is not limited to, a period of time, timestamp information, date, and/or elapsed time.

Marking material detection mechanism 132 of the marking device 110 shown in FIG. 2 is another type of input device that provides marking information, and may be any mechanism or mechanisms for determining a presence or absence of a marking dispenser 116 in or otherwise coupled to the marking device 110, as well as dertermining certain attributes/characteristics of the marking material within marking dispenser 116 when the dispenser is placed in or coupled to the marking device. As shown in FIG. 3, in some embodiments the marking material detection mechanism 132 may be disposed generally in an area proximate to a marking material holder 140 in which a marking dispenser 116 may be placed.

For example, in one embodiment, the marking material detection mechanism 132 may include one or more switch devices (e.g., a make/break single pole/single throw contact switch) disposed at one or more points along the marking material holder 140 and electrically coupled to the processor 118. The switch device(s) may also be coupled to ground or a DC supply voltage, such that when the switch device is in a first state (e.g., closed/making contact) the ground or DC supply voltage is passed to the processor 118 (e.g., via an I/O pin of the processor which provides an interrupt to, or is periodically monitored by, the processor), and when the switch is in a second state (e.g., open/no contact) the ground or DC supply voltage is not passed to the processor 118. When the marking dispenser 116 is present in the holder 140, the switch device(s) is in one of two possible states and when there is no marking dispenser the switch device(s) is in another of the two possible states (e.g., the marking dispenser, when present, may depress the switch device(s) so as to make contact and pass the ground/DC voltage to the processor). In this manner, the marking material detection mechanism 132 may provide a signal to the processor indicating the presence or absence of the marking dispenser 116 in the marking device 110.

The marking material detection mechanism 132 also or alternatively may include a barcode reader to read barcode data from a dispenser 116 and/or a radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader for reading information from an RFID tag that is provided on marking dispenser 116. The RFID tag may include, for example, a unique serial number or universal product code (UPC) that corresponds to the brand and/or type of marking material in marking dispenser 116. The type of information that may be encoded within the RFID tag on marking dispenser 116 may include product-specific information for the marking material, but any information of interest may be stored on an RFID tag. For example, user-specific information and/or inventory-related information may be stored on each RFID tag for a marking dispenser 116 to facilitate inventory tracking of marking materials. In particular, an identifier for a technician may be stored on an RFID tag when the technician is provided with a marking dispenser 116, and information relating to weight, amount dispensed, and/or amount remaining may be written to the RFID tag whenever the marking dispenser is used.

In one exemplary implementation, the marking material detection mechanism 132 may include a Micro RWD MIFARE-ICODE RFID reader module available from IB Technology (Eccel Technology Ltd) of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK (see www.ibtechnology.co.uk/products/icode.htm). The Micro RWD reader module includes an RS232 communication interface to facilitate communication between the processor 118 and the reader module (e.g., via messages sent as a string of ASCII characters), and supports both reading information from an RFID tag attached to a marking dispenser as well as writing information to an RFID tag attached to the marking dispenser. In one aspect of an exemplary implementation, an antenna constituted by one or more turns of wire (e.g., two turns of awg 26 wire, 6.5 cm in diameter, about 1 uH) is coupled to the Micro RWD reader module and disposed in the marking material holder 140 of the marking device 110 (see FIG. 3), proximate to a marking dispenser 116 when placed in the holder 140, so as to capture close near field signals (e.g., from an RFID tag on the dispenser, within about 2 inches) and exclude far field signals. In another aspect, the Micro RWD reader module may be configured to read RFID tags having an ICODE SLI format (e.g., ISO 15693 ICODE SLI). In yet another aspect, an RFID tag may be affixed to an aerosol paint can serving as the marking dispenser, such that the tag conforms to a plastic cap of the paint can and is disposed at a particular location relative to a notch in the cap (e.g., 90 degrees +/−15 degrees from the notch) that allows access to the spray nozzle of the can and is in a relatively predictable position substantially aligned with the antenna when the paint can is placed in the marking material holder 140. Examples of RFID tags suitable for this purpose are available from BCS Solutions, Inc. (see www.bcssolutions.com/solutions/rfid) and include, but are not limited to, the HF Bullseye Wet Inlay SLA Round 40.

In yet other embodiments, marking material detection mechanism 132 may alternatively or further be configured to detect properties of marking material as it is dispensed. For example, the marking material detection mechanism may include one or more of an optical sensor, an olfactory sensor, an auditory sensor (e.g., a microphone), a weight sensor, and any combination thereof. For example, in one embodiment an optical sensor in the marking device may be used to identify the composition and/or type of marking material in the marking dispenser by analyzing light reflected by the material as it is dispensed. Similarly, an olfactory sensor may be used to identify one or more characteristics of the marking material based on an odor profile of the material, and an auditory sensor may be used to identify the difference between paint being sprayed from an aerosol can and aerosol without paint being sprayed from a can (e.g., as the dispenser becomes emptied of paint).

In one embodiment, information provided by one or more input devices of the marking device 110 (e.g., the timing system 128, the location tracking system 130, the marking material detection mechanism 132, the user interface 126, the communication interface 124) is acquired and logged (stored in memory) upon actuation of the actuation system 120 (e.g., triggering an actuator). Some embodiments of the invention may additionally or alternatively acquire/log information from one or more input devices at one or more times during or throughout an actuation, such as when a technician is holding a mechanical or electrical actuator for some period of time and moving to dispense marking material in a line (e.g., see FIG. 7). In various aspects of such embodiments, marking information derived from one or more input devices may be collected at a start time of an actuation, at one or more times during an actuation, and in some cases at regular intervals during an actuation (e.g., several times per second, once per second, once every few seconds). Further, some marking information may be collected at an end of an actuation, such as time information that may indicate a duration of an actuation.

Additionally, it should be appreciated that while some marking information may be received via one or more input devices at the start of each marking operation and upon successive actuations of the marking device, in other cases some marking information may be collected by or provided to the marking device once, prior to a marking operation (e.g., on power-up or reset of the marking device, as part of an electronic instruction or dispatch by a locate company, and/or in response to a request/query from a locate technician), and stored in local memory 122 for later incorporation into an electronic record. For example, prior to a given marking operation and one or more actuations of the marking device, ticket information and/or service-related information may have already been received (e.g., via the communication) interface 124 and/or user interface 126) and stored in local memory 122. Upon generation of an electronic record of a given marking operation, information previously received via the interface(s) may be retrieved from the local memory (if stored there initially) and entered into an electronic record, in some case together with information collected pursuant to one or more actuations of the marking device. Alternatively, ticket information and/or service-related information may be received via the interface(s) and stored in an entry in the electronic record 135 “directly” in response to one or more actuations of the marking device (e.g., without being first stored in local memory).

In sum, according to embodiments of the present invention, various marking information from one or more input devices, regardless of how or when it is received, may be stored in an electronic record of a marking operation, in which at least some of the marking information is logged pursuant to one or more actuations of the marking device.

In one embodiment, the optional remote computer 150 of the data acquisition system 100 may be a centralized computer, such as a central server of an underground facility locate service provider. In another embodiment, remote computer 150 may be a computer that is at or near the work site (i.e., “on-site”), e.g., a computer that is present in a locate technician's vehicle.

Whether resident and/or executed on either the marking device 110 or the remote computer 150, as noted above the marking data algorithm 134 includes a set of processor-executable instructions (e.g., stored in memory, such as local memory 122 of the marking device) that, when executed by processor 118 of the marking device 110 or another processor, processes information (e.g., various marking information) collected in response to (e.g., during) one or more actuations of the marking device 110, and/or in some cases before or after a given actuation or series of actuations. As also discussed above, according to various embodiments the actuations of marking device 110 may effect both dispensing marking material and logging of marking information, or merely logging of marking information for other purposes (e.g., simulating the dispensing of marking material) without dispensing marking material. In either situation, marking data algorithm 134, when executed by the processor 118, may cause the processor to perform collection, logging/storage (creation of electronic records), and in some instances further processing and analysis of various marking information with respect to marking device actuations. For example, as discussed in further detail below in connection with FIG. 9, the operations of marking data algorithm 134 as effected by the processor 118 may include, but are not limited to, the following:

-   -   (1) reading in (acquiring) data that is generated by any         component (e.g., one or more input devices); for example, data         may be read in that is acquired at a start of a given actuation,         throughout the duration of the actuation, at the end of the         actuation, before or after the actuation, and any combination         thereof;     -   (2) processing the information that is collected and associating         the collected information with respective actuations; for         example, any information collected may be parsed/packaged so as         to be associated with any one or more actuations of the marking         device, irrespective of when the data was actually acquired;     -   (3) formatting the acquired information, e.g., as multiple         time-stamped event entries constituting actuation data sets         forming an electronic record, wherein each actuation data set         corresponds to a particular actuation; and     -   (4) using respective actuation data sets of an electronic record         to visually recreate the marking operation (e.g., render a         computer-generated representation in a display field, wherein         respective actuation data sets correspond to electronic locate         marks).

It should also be appreciated that the marking data algorithm 134 may include one or more adjustable parameters that govern various aspects of the collection and logging of marking information (e.g., the rate at which various marking information is collected from one or more input devices), and that these parameters may be adjusted or set, for example, by an administrator at a remote computer, after which the marking data algorithm is downloaded to the marking device for execution by the processor 118. Alternatively, in other implementations, adjustable parameters of a marking data algorithm already resident on a marking device may in some cases be adjusted remotely via the communication interface, or locally via the user interface.

While the functionality of various components of the marking device 110 was discussed above in connection with FIG. 2, FIG. 3 shows some structural aspects of the marking device 110 according to one embodiment. For example, the marking device 110 may include an elongated housing 136 in which is disposed one or more elements of the actuation system 120, one or more elements of the control electronics 112 and the power source 114. Elongated housing 136 may be hollow or may contain certain cavities or molded compartments for installing any components therein, such as the various components of marking device 110 that are shown in FIG. 2. The elongated housing 136 and other structural elements associated with the housing, as discussed below, may be formed of any rigid, semi-rigid, strong, and lightweight material, such as, but not limited to, molded plastic and aluminum.

Incorporated at a proximal end of elongated housing 136 may be a handle 138, which provides a convenient grip by which the user (e.g., the locate technician) may carry the marking device 110 during use (i.e., the exemplary marking device depicted in FIG. 3 is intended to be a hand-held device). In one implementation, the power source 114 may be provided in the form of a removable battery pack housing one or more rechargeable batteries that are connected in series or parallel in order to provide a DC voltage to marking device 110, and disposed within a compartment in the handle 138. Such an arrangement facilitates use of conventional removable/rechargeable battery packs often employed in a variety of cordless power tools, in which the battery pack similarly is situated in a handle of the tool. It should be appreciated, however, that the power source 114 in the form of a battery pack may be disposed in any of a variety of locations within or coupled to the elongated housing 136.

As also shown in FIG. 3, mounted near handle 138 is user interface 126, which may include a display 146. The display 146 may be a touch screen display to facilitate interaction with a user/technician, and/or the user interface also may include one or more buttons, switches, joysticks, a keyboard, and the like to facilitate entry of information by a user/technician. One or more elements of the control electronics 112 (e.g., the processor 118, memory 122, communication interface 124, and timing system 128) also may be located in the proximal end of the elongated housing in the vicinity of the user interface 126 and display 146. As with the power source 114, it should be appreciated that one or more elements of the control electronics 112 may be disposed in any of a variety of locations within or coupled to the elongated housing 136.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the location tracking system 130 similarly may be positioned on the proximal end of the elongated housing 136 to facilitate substantially unobstructed exposure to the atmosphere; in particular, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the location tracking system 130 may be situated on an a ground plane 133 (providing an electrical ground at least at the antenna frequency of the location tracking system, e.g., at approximately 1.5 GHz) that extends from the proximal end of the housing 136 and is approximately parallel to the ground, surface or pavement when the marking device is being normally operated by a technician (so as to reduce signal modulation with subtle movements of the marking device).

As also shown in FIG. 3, incorporated at the distal end of elongated housing 136 is a marking dispenser holder 140 for holding one or more marking dispensers 116 (e.g., an aerosol paint canister). Dispenser 116 may be one or more replaceable dispensers or one or more reusable refillable dispensers (including a fixed reservoir forming a part of the device 110) or any other suitable dispenser. Also situated at the distal end of the housing is the marking material detection mechanism 132 to detect a presence or absence of the marking dispenser 116 in the marking material holder 140, and/or one or more characteristics of the marking material 148, as well as an actuation mechanism 158, which in some implementations may constitute part of the actuation system 120 and be employed to interact with the marking dispenser 116 so as to effect dispensing of the marking material 148.

With respect to the actuation system 120, as shown in FIG. 3, at least a portion of the actuation system 120 is indicated generally along the length of the elongated housing for purposes of illustration. More specifically, however, in various implementations the actuation system 120 may include multiple components disposed in various places in, on or coupled to the marking device 110. For example, in the embodiment of FIG. 3, the actuation system 120 includes an actuator 142, which for example may be a mechanical mechanism provided at the handle 138 in the form of a trigger that is pulled by a finger or hand of an user/technician. The actuation system 120 further includes the actuation mechanism 158 disposed at the distal end of the marking device that is responsive to the actuator 142 to dispense marking material. In general, in various exemplary implementations as discussed in further detail below, the actuation system 120 may employ any of a variety of mechanical and/or electrical techniques to cause the marking dispenser 116 to dispense marking material 148 in response to one or more signals or stimuli. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the signal/stimulus is initially provided to the actuation system via the mechanical actuator 142; i.e., a locate technician or other user triggers (e.g., pulls/depresses) the actuator 142 to provide a signal/stimulus to the actuation system 120, which in turn operates the actuation mechanism 158 to dispense marking material in response to the signal/stimulus.

In response to the signal/stimulus provided by the actuator 142, as discussed above the actuation system may also provide an actuation signal 121 to the processor 118 to indicate an actuation. As discussed in further detail below in connection with FIG. 9, pursuant to the execution by the processor 118 of the marking data algorithm 134, the actuation signal 121 may be used to cause the logging of information that is provided by one or more components of the marking device 110 so as to generate an electronic record of the marking operation.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate a portion of the actuation system 120 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A shows the actuator 142 in an un-actuated state, whereas FIG. 4B shows the actuator 142 in an actuated state (in which a signal/stimulus is provided by the actuator). In the example of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the actuator 142 is coupled to a mechanical coupler 152, similar to that shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, which extends along a length of the elongated housing and is in turn coupled to a mechanical actuation mechanism 158 at the distal end of the housing (not shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B) that ultimately effects dispensing of marking material when the actuator is in the actuated state. The portion of the actuation system 120 shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B also includes a sensor 160 which is configured to provide an actuation signal 121 to the processor 118 to indicate one or both of the respective actuated and un-actuated states of the actuator 142.

In one implementation, the sensor 160 may include a switch device (e.g., a make/break single pole/single throw contact switch) disposed along the handle 138 of the marking device such that, when pulled, the actuator contacts (e.g., depresses) the switch causing a state of the switch to toggle. In another implementation, the sensor 160 may include a switch device such as a reed (magnetic) switch disposed at some point along the length of the elongated housing; in such an implementation, the mechanical coupler 152 may have a magnet disposed along it at an appropriate position relative to the reed switch, such that movement of the mechanical coupler 152 upon actuation of the actuator 142 causes a state of the reed switch to toggle. Electrically, a switch device serving as the sensor 160 may be coupled to ground or a DC supply voltage, such that when the switch device is in a first state (e.g., closed/making contact) the ground or DC supply voltage is passed to the processor 118 (e.g., via an I/O pin of the processor which provides an interrupt to, or is periodically monitored by, the processor), and when the switch is in a second state (e.g., open/no contact) the ground or DC supply voltage is not passed to the processor 118. In this manner, the sensor 160 may provide the actuation signal 121 to the processor indicating actuation (and release) of the actuator 142.

FIG. 5 illustrates various components of an actuation system 120 according to other embodiments of the present invention. Generally speaking, the actuation system 120 may include the actuator 142 and the sensor 160 to detect actuation and release of the actuator 142 (and also provide a corresponding actuation signal 121 representing same to the processor 118). While a “trigger-pull” type of actuator 142 is shown primarily for purposes of illustration in FIG. 5, it should be appreciated that more generally an actuator of the actuation system 120 may be implemented by any form or combination of a lever, switch, program, processor, screen, microphone for capturing audible commands, and the like, as discussed above. For example, in one implementation, a microphone may serve as both the actuator 142 and the sensor 160 shown in FIG. 5 to provide an actuation signal 121 based on audible commands, so as to effect voice-activated actuation of the marking device.

FIG. 5 also shows that the actuation system 120 of this embodiment includes a link transmitter 168 coupled and responsive to the sensor 160 to transmit one or more signals and/or other stimulus via an actuation link 164, and a link receiver 162 to receive the one or more signals and/or other stimulus from the actuation link 164. In response to such signals and/or other stimulus, the link receiver 162 operates the actuation mechanism 158. The link transmitter 168, the link 164, and the link receiver 162 may include one or more electrical and/or mechanical components. For example, the link receiver 162 may include a linear solenoid mechanically coupled to the actuation mechanism 158 and whose movement is responsive to one or more signals and/or stimuli received from the link 164. In various exemplary implementations, the link transmitter 168 and the link 164 simply may include a wire that couples the sensor 160 to the solenoid to activate the solenoid upon changes of state in the actuation signal 121. Alternatively, the transmitter 168 may be an RF transmitter that is activated in response to the actuation signal 121, the link 164 may be a wireless link, and the receiver 162 may include an RF receiver.

Other examples of transmitter/link/receiver combinations include, but are not limited to, an acoustic transmitter/link/receiver (e.g., a sound wave source that provides a sound wave of a certain tone, duration, and/or amplitude when the actuator is actuated, and a corresponding sound wave detector), an optical transmitter/link/receiver (e.g., a light or laser source that provides an optical signal of a certain wavelength, duration, and/or amplitude when the actuator is actuated, and a corresponding optical detector), a fluid transmitter/link/receiver (e.g., a fluid system that provides a fluid control output of a certain volume, pressure, and/or duration when the actuator is actuated, and a corresponding fluid sensor for sensing the presence of, for example, a short blast of water of a certain volume, pressure, and/or duration to indicate an actuation; the fluid system may be, for example, a closed-loop system that has a source reservoir at the top of the marking device, a fluid line in proximity with the fluid sensor, a return reservoir for capturing water during the actuation process, and appropriate pressure regulation and ducts for cycling water from the return reservoir back to the source reservoir), and an air transmitter/link/receiver (e.g., an air system that provides an air control output of a certain volume, pressure, and/or duration when the actuator is actuated, and a corresponding air sensor for sensing the presence of, for example, a blast or puff of air of a certain volume, pressure, and/or duration to indicate an actuation).

While not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, in yet other embodiments it should be appreciated that the sensor 160 may be coupled to the processor 118 (to provide the actuation signal 121 representing actuation/release of the actuator), and in turn the processor may provide a signal to the link transmitter 168, such that dispensing of marking material may in part be under the control of the processor 118 executing particular instructions for this purpose. More specifically, while in some implementations dispensing of marking material may be directly responsive to actuation of the actuator (and cease upon release of the actuator), in other implementations dispensing of marking material may be initiated in some manner upon actuation of the actuator, but then continued dispensing of marking material may not necessarily be dictated by continued actuation, or release, of the actuator. Rather, the processor 118 may provide one or more signals or commands to the link transmitter 168 to govern dispensing of marking material in some manner that does not necessarily track each actuation and release of the actuator.

For example, in one implementation the processor 118 may execute instructions such that, once the actuation signal 121 from the sensor 160 indicates actuation of the actuator, the processor 118 provides a signal to the link transmitter 168 that causes dispensing of marking material for some predetermined or user-defined amount of time, irrespective of release of the actuator. Additionally or alternatively, the processor may provide one or more signals to the link transmitter 168 that causes dispensing of marking material for multiple discrete amounts of time with a single actuation (e.g., three bursts of 1 second each per actuation). From the foregoing, it should be generally appreciated that a wide variety of marker sizes and patterns may be generated from the marking device in an automated or semi-automated manner based on processor-based control of the actuation system 120. It should also be appreciated that automated or semi-automated processor-based control of the dispensing of marking material may also govern in some fashion how, how often, and/or what type of marking information is collected and logged to generate an electronic record of a marking operation, as discussed further below in connection with FIG. 9.

FIGS. 6 and 7 provide examples of how the marking device 110 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be employed by a technician during a marking operation. Referring now to FIG. 6, a perspective view of marking device 110 when in use for marking a “dotting pattern” is presented. In marking operations, a dotting pattern may be utilized to preliminarily and quickly indicate the presence or absence of a target facility during an initial locate of a target facility. By way of example, FIG. 6 shows an underground facility 310, which may be any facility, such as an underground gas line, water pipe, sewer pipe, power line, telephone line, cable television conduit, and the like. FIG. 6 also shows a dotting pattern 312 that is formed by multiple locate marks 314 dispensed via marking device 110. The locate marks 314 of dotting pattern 312 are formed by successive short bursts of marking material (e.g., brief actuations); i.e., each locate mark 314 corresponds to one brief actuation of the marking device 110.

Referring now to FIG. 7, a perspective view of marking device 110 when in use for marking a “lines pattern” is presented. In marking operations, a lines pattern is typically the end product of a marking operation. This pattern extends the dotting pattern (e.g., dotting pattern 312 of FIG. 6) so as to create lines (e.g., a series of dashes) that indicate the presence or absence of an underground facility. These lines subsequently provide important reference marks to an excavator so as to avoid damage to a facility during excavation activities or other disturbances of the ground. By way of example, FIG. 7 shows underground facility 310, which may be any concealed facility, such as an underground gas line, water pipe, sewer pipe, power line, telephone line, cable television conduit, and the like. FIG. 7 also shows a lines pattern 412 that is formed by multiple locate marks 414 dispensed via marking device 110. A characteristic of locate marks 414 of lines pattern 412 is that each locate mark 414 is formed by an extended burst of marking material (e.g., a longer actuation of the marking device) as compared with a dotting pattern. As with the dotting pattern shown in FIG. 6, however, each locate mark 414 of the lines pattern shown in FIG. 7 may correspond to one actuation of marking device 110. In some alternative implementations, as discussed above, a series of locate marks (e.g., all three marks 414) may be automatically generated by one actuation of marking device 110 pursuant to processor-based control of the actuation system.

FIG. 8 illustrates a plan view that shows further details of the lines pattern 412 of FIG. 7. In the example of FIG. 8, each locate mark 414-1, 414-2, and 414-3 corresponds to one actuation (“act”) of marking device 110, i.e., locate mark 414-1 corresponds to act-1, locate mark 414-2 corresponds to act-2, and locate mark 414-3 corresponds to act-3. Furthermore, each actuation and its corresponding locate mark 412 has a start time t1, an end time t2, and a duration (Δt). While FIG. 8 shows three locate marks, it should be appreciated that lines pattern 412 may be formed by any number of locate marks.

In one embodiment of the present invention for generating an electronic record of a marking operation, the processor 118 of the marking device 110, executing the marking data algorithm 134, may collect various marking information and generate an electronic record having one or more “actuation data sets” respectively associated with one or more actuations (act-1, act-2, act-3 . . . . act-n) and corresponding locate marks, as shown in FIG. 8. Marking information may be collected and entered into such an electronic record at various times relative to the start time t1 and the end time t2 of a given actuation, e.g., at t1 only, at t2 only, at both t1 and t2, at any time(s) between t1 and t2, and/or before or after t1 and t2.

Examples of marking information that generally (but not necessarily) is acquired with respect to t1 and t2 of each actuation, and points between t1 and t2 (“actuation data”), may include, but are not limited to:

-   -   (1) timing information: time and date for one or both of t1 and         t2 (hereinafter also referred to as “time stamp data”), and/or         duration (Δt) of the actuation, which may be provided in some         instances by timing system 128; and     -   (2) geographic information: latitude and longitude data from         location tracking system 130 (hereinafter also referred to as         “geo-location data”) (e.g., GPS data may be expressed in         degrees, minutes, and seconds (i.e., DDD°, MM′, and SS.S″),         degrees and decimal minutes (DDD° and MM.MMM′), or decimal         degrees)) (DDD.DDDDD°)).

Examples of marking information that may be acquired before, during or after a given actuation or succession of actuations, and also entered into an electronic record, include, but are not limited to:

-   -   (3) marking material information, such as the presence, color,         brand and/or type of dispensed marking material or a simulated         dispensing of such marking material (i.e., hereinafter also         referred to as “product data”);     -   (4) service-related information: identification (ID) number of         the locate service provider (e.g., a party/company who         dispatches the locate technician, hereinafter also referred to         as “service provider ID”); ID number of the user and/or         technician (hereinafter also referred to as “user ID”); ID         number of the marking device being used for the marking         operation (hereinafter also referred to as “device ID”); and     -   (5) ticket information, such as the requesting party, type of         facility requested to be marked by the requesting party, and         address of the work site/dig area for the marking operation         (hereinafter also referred to as “locate request data”). Ticket         information also may include a variety of text-based information         which may be included in an original locate request ticket,         and/or text-based or other information entered in by a         technician (e.g., via the user interface 126 and/or display 146)         upon initiation of and/or during a marking operation, such as         ground type information (e.g., a description of the ground at         which marking material is dispensed). Thus, ticket information         may be received or derived from a locate request ticket and/or         provided by another source, such as entry by a user/technician.

In exemplary methods for generating an electronic record of marking operations according to some embodiments of the invention, as discussed in greater detail below, for a given actuation the processor 118 may request the location tracking system 130 to provide geographic information at one or more times during the actuation (e.g., periodically at regular intervals). Thus, an actuation data set of an electronic record for a given actuation of the marking device may have multiple pieces of geographic information (and associated time stamps) representing the location of the marking device at multiple times during a corresponding actuation. Additionally, for a given actuation, the processor 118 also may request the marking material detection mechanism 132 to provide marking material information as part of the actuation data set. The processor also may include ticket information and service-related information, which may be collected (e.g., via one or more of the user interface 126 and the communication interface 124) before a corresponding actuation, stored in memory 122 and retrieved from the memory for entry into the electronic record upon or during the corresponding actuation, or collected and entered into the electronic record upon or during the corresponding actuation.

While the collection and logging of marking information to generate an electronic record is discussed in some aspects, for purposes of illustration, in terms of actuation data sets (i.e., a set of data that is associated and logged with a corresponding actuation of the marking device), it should be appreciated that various embodiments of the present invention are not limited in this respect. More generally, an electronic record of a marking operation may be generated in any of a variety of manners, have a variety of file formats and/or data structures, and include any of a variety of marking information (some of which may be germane to one or more actuations of the marking device and some of which may be common to multiple actuations or the overall marking operation in general).

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 600 for collecting marking information during operation of a marking device 110 and generating an electronic record, according to one embodiment of the present invention. It should be appreciated that as various marking information is collected and logged in the process 600, such marking information also may be transmitted from the marking device (e.g., to remote computer 150) to facilitate essentially real-time monitoring of the marking operation, and/or remote generation of an electronic record of the marking operation.

In block 602 of the process 600 shown in FIG. 9, ticket information and/or service-related information may be received (e.g., via one or more of the user interface 126 and the communication interface 124 of marking device 110) and this information optionally may be stored in whole or in part in local memory 122 of the marking device. The ticket information and/or service-related information may be received electronically in any of a variety of formats, and the processor may be configured to appropriately parse the information for subsequent entry into an electronic record.

In some embodiments, the ticket information may be received as part of an electronic locate request ticket, and individual respective pieces of ticket information (e.g., ticket number, work site address information, requesting party, etc.) may be extracted or derived from the electronic locate request ticket. In other embodiments, various aspects of ticket information may be input by a user/technician via the user interface.

For example, in block 602 the process 600 may provide for the entry of any of a variety of text information for inclusion in an electronic record and/or selection by a user/technician (e.g., via the user interface) of various information to be included in an electronic record as part of ticket information (and/or service-related information). One example of such information may relate to a ground type in and around the work site/dig area at which marking material is dispensed as part of the marking operation. In some implementations, a text description of the ground type may be entered and stored as part of the electronic record. In another exemplary implementation, the processor 118 controls the user interface 126 (including display 146) so as to display information to the technician to facilitate such a selection. In particular, a ground type selection submenu may be displayed, including one or more categories of ground types displayed in any of a variety of manners (e.g., as a list of text entries, an arrangement of icons symbolizing respective categories, labeled symbols, etc.). Examples of ground type categories that may be displayed in such a submenu include, but are not limited to: 1) “Pavement;” 2) “Grass;” 3) “Rough/Rocky;” 4) “Dirt;” 5) “Gravel/Sand;” and 6) “Other.” More generally, any number and variety of ground type categories may be presented to the technician via the user interface in alphabetically ordered lists, numerically ordered lists, or other types of ordered text-based or symbolic arrangements, for example. In yet another exemplary implementation, the user interface may include a microphone and the processor may be configured to accept and process audible commands, such that a ground type category may be accomplished via voice-activated commands by simply speaking into the microphone.

Similarly, with respect to service-related information, a user/technician may manually enter some aspects of this information via the user interface/display, while other aspects may already be available in other memory locations (e.g., the marking device ID or serial number, a technician ID to which the marking device is assigned or checked-out, etc.) and/or may be received electronically.

While block 602 is illustrated as one element of the process 600, it should be appreciated that respective pieces of information received as input in block 602 may be received at different times and via different interfaces/sources, and thus may occur at different points in the process 600. It should also be appreciated that block 602 is an optional step in the process 600, and that more generally a process for collecting marking information to generate an electronic record need not necessarily include collection of one or both of ticket information and service-related information.

In block 604, the locate technician utilizes the user interface 126 to indicate the initiation of a marking operation. For example, the technician may press a button, operate a joy-stick, or touch a touch screen display portion of a graphical user interface to commence a marking operation. In response, a “job initiation signal” is provided to the processor 118 (e.g., via a switch closure and a ground or DC level applied to an I/O pin of the processor, or by the user interface providing a signal to the processor) to initiate generation of an electronic record. Alternatively, a remote job initiation signal may be received by the processor via the communication interface from another device, such as the remote computer 150.

In response to the job initiation signal, in block 606 the processor opens a file in the memory 122 in which to store the electronic record 135, and assigns a file identifier to the opened file. In one example, the file identifier assigned to the opened file may be or include one or more of a job number (“job ID”) or ticket number derived from the ticket information and/or the service-related information, an identifier for the marking device itself, and an identifier for a remote computer associated with the marking device (e.g., for either remote control operation of the device and/or data uploading/downloading). To this end, if ticket information and/or service-related information is not previously available (e.g., if no information is received in block 602), the technician optionally may be prompted to manually enter (e.g., via a “wizard” or sequence of dialogues germane to obtaining relevant information displayed on the display of the user interface) various elements of ticket information and/or service-related information from which a file identifier may be derived, or provide other information that may be used as a file identifier.

A file opened in block 606 for purposes of storing an electronic record may have any of a variety of formats and include any of a variety of data structures. In one embodiment, the processor initially opens up a “flat file” for collection and logging of marking information to facilitate generation of an electronic record. As known in the art, a flat file is a plain text or mixed text/binary file containing one entry (data record) per line, in which each entry may have multiple fields containing respective values, and wherein the respective values may be separated by delimiters (e.g., commas) or have a fixed length. In one exemplary implementation, the processor 118 logs data into a flat file opened for the electronic record as a succession of time stamped “event entries.” Some event entries may be related specifically to actuation and/or logged in response to actuation of the marking device (e.g., the processor 118 receiving an actuation signal 121). Other event entries may be more generally related in some manner to overall operation of the marking device or the marking operation itself, but not necessarily associated with one or more particular actuations (e.g., start/pause/stop marking operation, power/battery status, communication link/network connection status, etc.), and these other event entries may be logged at virtually any time (in some cases irrespective of one or more actuations).

Accordingly, it should be appreciated that in one aspect of this embodiment a flat file for an electronic record may contain a succession of time stamped event entries on respective lines, in which one or more event entries may have multiple delimited fields/values and at least some of the event entries relate to actuation of the marking device. In another aspect, one or more fields/values in a given event entry may specifically indicate in some manner whether or not the event is associated with an actuation of the marking device. In general, an “actuation event entry” constitutes an entry in a file for an electronic record that is in some manner specifically related to, and/or logged in response to or during, actuation of the marking device, and multiple actuation event entries for a given actuation constitute an actuation data set for that actuation. Again, it should be appreciated that a file for an electronic record may include one or more other event entries that may not be particularly associated with an actuation.

In other embodiments, the file for an electronic record may or may not be a flat file, and event entries associated with actuations (actuation event entries) may be somehow identified and differentiated from other event entries that are not associated with an actuation. For example, a file for an electronic record may include a particular data structure or format that segregates or separates in some manner event entries associated with successive actuations from those event entries that are not particularly associated with actuations (and/or may be common to multiple actuations or a group of actuations). In yet other embodiments, as discussed below, marking information may be initially collected and logged in a first file for an electronic record in a first format (e.g., a flat file including a succession of time-stamped event entries as “raw data” for the marking operation) that may be stored and/or transmitted for any of a variety of purposes, and then reformatted and/or reorganized in some manner in one or more subsequent files (e.g., a file having a particular data structure that segregates/separates actuation-related information from other information in different fields/elements of a data structure) for archiving and/or transmission to one or more other devices/processors.

Once a file for an electronic record is opened in block 606, in block 608 the processor can begin collecting and logging various marking information, i.e., logging in the electronic record (and/or transmitting via the communication interface) actuation event entries and/or other event entries. In one exemplary implementation, the processor may be programmed so as to poll one or more input devices and/or other components of the marking device to receive information, either once or multiple times/periodically following the job initiation signal, and log responses to these polls (“polling events”) as event entries with associated time stamps. Examples of entries corresponding to polling events that may be logged into the file for the electronic record (and/or transmitted) include, but are not limited to, one or more “power status event entries” including power information associated with the power source 114, one or more “ticket information event entries” including ticket information (e.g., as received from the user interface or the communication interface, retrieved from local memory, etc.), one or more “service-related information event entries” including the service-related information (e.g., as received from the user interface or the communication interface, retrieved from local memory, etc.), and one or more “communication interface event entries” including status information regarding operation of the communication interface (e.g., network communication available/unavailable).

Additionally or alternatively, the processor may be programmed so as to respond to one or more signals designated as “interrupt events” from one or more components of the marking device. Such interrupt events cause logging of information in the electronic record (and/or transmission of information) upon/following the processor detecting the corresponding signal(s). For example, the “job initiation signal” itself may constitute an interrupt event, in response to which the processor 118 not only opens a file for the electronic record but, once the file is opened, the processor may request timing information from the timing system 128 and log into the electronic record a “start job event entry” including a job initiation time stamp associated with receipt of the job initiation signal.

In a similar manner, following commencement of a marking operation, the locate technician may utilize the user interface 126 (e.g., press a button, operate a joy-stick, or touch a touch screen display portion of a graphical user interface) to pause, restart, and/or indicate completion of the marking operation, and these actions may constitute interrupt events. For example, as indicated in block 610 of FIG. 9, a “pause signal” may be provided by the user interface to the processor, in response to which the processor may request timing information from the timing system and log a “pause job event entry” including a pause job time stamp associated with the at least one pause signal. When the technician is ready to continue, as shown in block 612 of FIG. 9 the technician may indicate this via the user interface and a “restart job event entry” similarly may be logged. When the marking operation is deemed by the technician to be completed, as noted in block 614 of FIG. 9 the technician may utilize the user interface so as to provide a “stop signal” to the processor, in response to which the processor may request timing information from the timing system and log a “stop job event entry” including a stop job time stamp associated with the stop signal.

Additionally, the locate technician may utilize the user interface 126 to denote the beginning and end of a marking operation for a particular facility type, and these actions may constitute interrupt events. For example, upon beginning a marking operation for a given facility type, the technician may select “line start” from the user interface, and a corresponding “line start signal” may be provided by the user interface to the processor, in response to which the processor may request timing information from the timing system and log a “line start event entry.” Similarly, when the technician wishes to indicate completion of the marking operation for a given facility type, the technician may select “line stop” from the user interface, and a corresponding “line stop signal” may be provided by the user interface to the processor, in response to which the processor may request timing information from the timing system and log a “line stop even entry.”

While various events are noted above as examples of “polling events” as opposed to “interrupt events,” it should be appreciated that the invention is not limited in these respects, and that the marking data algorithm 134 executed by the processor 118 may be configured in any of a variety manners to designate various functions performed by and/or information provided by various components of the marking device as polling events or interrupt events. For example, the power source 114 may be configured to provide a “low battery signal” to the processor, which when present is treated by the processor as an interrupt event that may be logged by the processor and/or that may cause the processor to take some particular action (e.g., provide an audible/visible alert; disable logging of further data, etc.). In one aspect, absent the “low battery signal,” the processor may request status information from the power source once or occasionally as a polling event. Similarly, the communication interface 124 may be configured to provide a “no network connection available signal” to the processor, which when present is treated by the processor as an interrupt event (that is logged and/or causes the processor to take some action), and when not present, the processor may poll the communication interface to request status information as a polling event.

Another example of an interrupt event is given by the actuation signal 121 provided by the actuation system 120 upon actuation of the actuator 142 (i.e., a signal change-of-state indicating a transition from a non-actuated state to an actuated state), in response to which the processor logs one or more actuation event entries in the electronic record. More specifically, in one implementation, the receipt of a non-actuated to actuated transition state of the actuation signal 121 by the processor may cause an initial actuation event entry to be logged as a “start actuation event entry” having an associated time stamp (i.e., a start time for the corresponding actuation) and also cause the processor to subsequently poll one or more input devices for information during the corresponding actuation and until release of the actuator (i.e., subsequent change of state of the actuation signal 121). In this manner, an actuation data set for a given actuation may include multiple actuation event entries.

For example, during actuation of the actuator, the processor may poll the location tracking system 130 so as to receive geographic information, and in turn log one or more “geo-location data event entries” in the actuation data set for the corresponding actuation. As discussed above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3, in one exemplary implementation the location tracking system is configured to provide geographic information at an information update rate of approximately 5 Hz, and the processor may log respective updates of geographic information provided by the location tracking system at this update rate during an actuation as multiple geo-location data event entries of the actuation data set. It should be appreciated, however, that methods and apparatus according to various embodiments of the present invention are not limited in this respect, and that other geographic information update rates may be employed in various implementations (e.g., update rates of up to approximately 100 Hz), based in part on the particular location tracking system employed. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that in some implementations the geographic information provided by the location tracking system 130 may include one or more longitude coordinates, latitude coordinates, and a corresponding geo-location data time stamp at which a given set of longitude/latitude coordinates are obtained by the location tracking system; accordingly, a given geo-location data event entry in an actuation data set may include a longitude coordinate, a latitude coordinate, and the corresponding geo-location data time stamp.

Similarly, in some implementations, pursuant to an interrupt provided by the actuation signal 121, the processor may subsequently poll one or more of the timing system 128 and the marking material detection mechanism 132 so as to receive timing information and/or marking material information during a corresponding actuation, and in turn log one or more of a “timing event entry,” and a “marking material detection event entry” as part of the actuation data set. Any of a variety of marking material information as discussed above may be collected and logged during actuation in response to processor polling of the marking material detection mechanism (e.g., causing an RFID tag reader to read various information from an RFID tag affixed to the marking dispenser).

Additionally, in some implementations, pursuant to an interrupt provided by the actuation signal 121, the processor may subsequently poll one or more of the user interface 126, the communication interface 124, and the local memory 122 to retrieve ticket information and/or service-related information for logging into an actuation data set. As discussed above, in some implementations the receipt/retrieval of ticket information and/or service-related information may be treated as a polling event not necessarily associated with actuations, and this information need not be included in one or more actuation data sets. However, in other implementations it may be desirable to include at least some aspect of ticket information and/or service related information in each actuation data set, notwithstanding the possible redundancy of data content in respective actuation data sets (e.g., see Table 6, discussed further below in connection with FIG. 10).

Another example of an interrupt event is given by a change-of-state of the actuation signal 121 indicating a transition from the actuated state to the non-actuated state, i.e., release of the actuator 142. In response to this event, the processor may request information from the timing system 128 and log an “end actuation event entry” including an end time stamp.

Yet another type of interrupt event causing the processor to log one or more event entries may be provided by the marking material detection mechanism 132 in the form of a signal that indicates whether or not a marking dispenser is contained in or appropriately coupled to the marking device. To this end, as discussed above in connection with FIGS. 2 and 3, the marking material detection mechanism may include a toggle switch that provides a two-state signal to the processor (e.g., dispenser in/dispenser out) as an interrupt. Upon receiving an interrupt indicating a transition from “dispenser out” to “dispenser in,” the processor may collect and log this event as a “dispenser in event entry” with a corresponding time stamp, and then request other marking material information relating to the marking material in the dispenser from the marking material detection mechanism. In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that in some embodiments, marking material information may not necessarily be collected during one or more actuations of the marking device, but alternatively may be collected only upon a “dispenser in” event being detected. Upon detection of an interrupt event indicating a transition from “dispenser in” to “dispenser out,” the processor similarly may collect and log this event as a “dispenser out event entry.”

In yet another embodiment, the processor 118, executing marking data algorithm 134, may be configured to repeatedly/regularly poll all available input devices and other components of the marking device (e.g., in a predetermined order, in response to receipt of the job initiation signal) and generate an essentially continuous stream of data packets including marking information received pursuant to these polling events. In one aspect of this embodiment, each data packet of marking information may include a header, one or more flag fields, and one or more information payload fields. For example, in one implementation, the header for each packet may include one or more of a job ID (e.g., ticket identifier), technician ID, device ID (e.g., serial number), packet type ID, and/or a time stamp corresponding to logging of information/generation of the packet. Each packet also may include one or more payload fields for carrying information provided by the polled device(s) or components, and one or more flag fields that are set (or reset) upon occurrence of one or more predetermined interrupt events (e.g., pull/depress actuator, release actuator, marking dispenser in, marking dispenser out, low power, communication link fail, etc.). In this manner, a continuous stream of data may be provided as an output by the processor, in which certain interrupt events, such as an actuation and/or release of the actuator, “tag” certain data packets via an interrupt flag. In yet other aspects of this embodiment, all data packets thusly generated may be stored in the file opened for the electronic record and/or transmitted from the marking device in essentially real time; alternatively, only certain data packets with one or more predetermined flags set may be stored and/or transmitted.

Table 1 below illustrates an example of a portion of the contents of a relatively simple flat file for an electronic record that may be generated by the process 600 of FIG. 9:

TABLE 1 MARKER TIME LAT LONG EVENT COLOR 1:23:00.00 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:00.20 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:00.40 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:00.60 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23.00.80 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:01.00 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:01.20 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:01.40 PM −80.3851 25.56039 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:01.60 PM −80.3851 25.56039 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:01.80 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE 1:23:02.00 PM −80.3851 25.5604 Spraying ORANGE The portion of the file shown in Table 1 corresponds to multiple actuation event entries (one entry per line) collected and logged during an actuation of the marking device. Each entry has a time stamp (e.g., entries are logged at a rate of approximately five events per second) and further includes multiple fields having respective values (e.g., as comma separated values) for latitude and longitude coordinates received from the location tracking device, an event indicator indicating that the device is “Spraying” (the actuator is actuated), and a color of the marking material being dispensed.

As noted above, it should be appreciated that the portion of the file shown in Table 1 is provided primarily for purposes of illustration, and that the format and/or content for respective event entries and the file itself for an electronic record generated by and/or based on the information collection process discussed above in connection with FIG. 9 may have any of a variety of different formats and/or content.

To this point, Tables 2 through 5 below provide examples of various events for which event entries may be logged in a file for an electronic record and/or transmitted by the marking device, exemplary formats for these event entries, and exemplary file formats for files having multiple such entries, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Job Started/Paused/Restarted/Completed Events: This event entry format provides information about when a marking operation (“job”) was started and completed in addition to capturing details about if and when the job was paused and restarted.

TABLE 2 Format INFO+JOBS: (DATE) (TIME) (WAND_ID) (JOB_ID) (STATE) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:03:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (STARTED) <CR> <LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:11:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (PAUSED) <CR> <LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:51:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (RESTARTED) <CR> <LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(13:09:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (END) <CR> <LF>

Actuation State Change Events: For purposes of this event format, the actuator is deemed to have three possible states, i.e., PRESSED, HELD and RELEASED. Marking information from one or more input devices/other components of the marking device is recorded with these events to provide information about the job in progress.

TABLE 3 Format INFO+ WPTR: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (PAINT info) (TRIGGER SWITCH STATE) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:44) GPS($GPGGA,120443,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(PRESSED)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:45) GPS($GPGGA,120445,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(HELD)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:46) GPS($GPGGA,120446,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(RELEASED)<CR><LF>

Marking Device Status Events: The status event collects various marking information and/or information on operating characteristics of the device on a periodic basis while a job is in progress (e.g., pursuant to processor polls).

TABLE 4 Format INFO+STAT: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (PAINT status) (MEMORY used in %) (BATTERY level) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+STAT: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:00) GPS($GPGGA,120400,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) MEM(65) BAT(3)<CR><LF>

Error Events: Should any input device or other component of the marking device encounter a significant error condition, this may be logged as an event. In some cases, the user/technician also may be notified of the error through the user interface 126 (visible alert on display, audible alarm/alert, etc.). Similar event formats may be adopted for warning alerts/events and informational alerts/events.

TABLE 5 Format INFO+ERR: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (PAINT status) (MEMORY used in %) (BATTERY level) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+ERR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:00) GPS($GPGGA,120400,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) MEM(65) BAT(3)<CR><LF>

With respect to file formats for electronic records including the event entries outlined above in Tables 2 through 5, two exemplary file formats, namely ASCII and XML, are provided below for purposes of illustration. In various implementations, a given marking device may be particularly configured to store and/or transmit electronic records and respective entries therein in either format (or other formats). With respect to identification of files/electronic records, a standard naming scheme/format may be adopted, for example, including an identifier for the remote computer with which the marking device may be communicating (“ServerID”), an identifier for the marking device itself (“WandID”), and an identifier for the marking operation/job (“JobID”), and having the format “ServerID_WandID_Job_ID.”

ASCII Data Format: This format allows low-level remote processing engines to quickly and easily receive, parse, and react to marking information logged and/or transmitted by the marking device. An example of an electronic record formatted in ASCII based on the event entries outlined in Tables 2 through 5 is as follows:

INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:03:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (STARTED) <CR> <LF> INFO+STAT: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:00) GPS($GPGGA,120400,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) MEM(65) BAT(3)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:44) GPS($GPGGA,120443,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(PRESSED)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:45) GPS($GPGGA,120445,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(HELD)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:46) GPS($GPGGA,120446,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(RELEASED)<CR><LF> INFO+STAT: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:05:00) GPS($GPGGA,120500,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) BAT(3)<CR><LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:10:03) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (PAUSED)<CR> <LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(13:01:43) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (RESTARTED)<CR> <LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(13:01:50) GPS($GPGGA,130150,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(PRESSED)<CR><LF> INFO+WPTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(13:01:51) GPS($GPGGA,130151,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) CLR(RED) SWCH(RELEASED)<CR><LF> INFO+JOBS: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(13:20:30) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (END)<CR> <LF>

XML Data Format: This format allows transmission of self-describing data elements from the marking device, in some instances reducing processing errors and reducing the risks and effort involved in upgrades and data changes. An example of an electronic record formatted in XML based on the event entries outlined in Tables 2 through 5 is as follows:

<WAND ID=2334>  <JOB ID=4000>    <ACTIVITY>       <DATE>2009-04-15</DATE>       <TIME>12:03:44</TIME>       <STATUS>Started</STATUS>     </ACTIVITY>    <ACTIVITY>       <DATE>2009-04-15</DATE>       <TIME>12:04:00</TIME>       <GPS>($GPGGA, 120400,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47</GPS>       <PAINT>          <COLOR>Red</COLOR>          <VALID>True</VALID>         <SN>2342343243355</SN>       </PAINT>        <SWITCH>Pressed</SWITCH>     </ACTIVITY>  </JOB> </WAND>

Yet another alternative format for storing and organizing marking information in an electronic record of a marking operation, according to one embodiment of the invention, is shown in Table 6 below. By way of example, Table 6 shows the format and content of three actuation data sets of an electronic record of a marking operation for a given facility, in which each actuation data set includes information associated with multiple actuation event entries logged during a corresponding actuation and resulting locate mark (e.g., act-1, act-2, and act-3), as shown for example in FIG. 8. As discussed above, it should be appreciated that the format and content shown below in Table 6 may constitute an “original” electronic record generated by the processor pursuant to the process 600 shown in FIG. 9, or may be derived from raw data collected and logged pursuant to the process 600 (e.g., as a flat file, an ASCII formatted file, or an XML formatted file) and subsequently reorganized and particularly formatted.

TABLE 6 Example actuation data set for act-1 act-1 Service provider ID 0482 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 T1 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:15.2 T2 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:16.1 Duration (Δt) 00:00:00.9 T1 geo-location data 2650.9348, N, 08003.5057, W 1^(st) interval location 2650.9353, N, 08003.5055, W data 2^(nd) interval location 2650.9356, N, 08003.5055, W data . . . . . . Nth interval location 2650.9246, N, 08003.5240, W data T2 geo-location data 2650.9255, N, 08003.5236, W Product data Color = Red, Brand = ABC, Type/Batch = 224B-1 Ground Type Grass Other info (text entry) “thick and wet at time of marking” Locate request data Requestor: XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address: 222 Main St, Orlando, FL Example actuation data set for act-2 act-2 Service provider ID 0482 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 T1 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:17.5 T2 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:18.7 Duration (Δt) 00:00:01.2 T1 geo-location data 2650.9256, N, 08003.5234, W 1st interval location 2650.9256, N, 08003.5226, W data 2^(nd) interval location 2650.9256, N, 08003.5217, W data . . . . . . Nth interval location 2650.9260, N, 08003.5199, W data T2 geo-location data 2650.9266, N, 08003.5196, W Product data Color = Red, Brand = ABC, Type/Batch = 224B-1 Ground Type Grass Other info (text entry) “thick and wet at time of marking” Locate request data Requestor: XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address: 222 Main St, Orlando, FL Example actuation data set for act-3 act-3 Service provider ID 0482 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 T1 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:18.7 T2 timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:19.8 duration (Δt) 00:00:01.1 T1 geo-location data 2650.9273, N, 08003.5193, W 1st interval location 2650.9281, N, 08003.5190, W data 2^(nd) interval location 2650.9288, N, 08003.5188, W data . . . . . . Nth interval location 2650.9321, N, 08003.5177, W data T2 geo-location data 2650.9325, N, 08003.5176, W Product data Color = Red, Brand = ABC, Type/Batch = 224B-1 Ground Type Grass Other info (text entry) “thick and wet at time of marking” Locate request data Requestor: XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address: 222 Main St, Orlando, FL

In addition to the information shown in Table 6, a job ID or some other identifier for the electronic record as a whole (e.g., a ticket number), as well as a total number of actuations for a given marking operation (e.g., the total number of actuation data sets in a given electronic record in this embodiment), may be included in the electronic record.

With regard to color information that may be included in any of the event entries and electronic records discussed herein, Table 7 below shows an example of the correlation of marking material color to the type of facility to be marked.

TABLE 7 Correlation of color to facility type Marking material color Facility Type Red Electric power lines, cables or conduits, and lighting cables Yellow Gas, oil, steam, petroleum, or other hazardous liquid or gaseous materials Orange Communications, cable television, alarm or signal lines, cables, or conduits Blue Water, irrigation, and slurry lines Green Sewers, storm sewer facilities, or other drain lines White Proposed excavation Pink Temporary survey markings Purple Reclaimed water, irrigation, and slurry lines Black Mark-out for errant lines

FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary data structure for an electronic record 135, according to another embodiment of the present invention, that may be generated by and/or based on information collected during the process 600 discussed above in connection with FIG. 9 and based on the organization of information shown in Table 6 above. As shown in FIG. 10, the record 135 includes a file identifier 701 (e.g., one or more of Job ID, WandID, ServerID, etc.) and a plurality of actuation data sets 1 through N (with reference numbers 702A, 702B, 702C . . . 702N), wherein each actuation data set is associated with a corresponding actuation of a marking device. For purposes of the following discussion, FIG. 10 shows additional details of the data structure for actuation data set 3 702C, showing several fields in which data (e.g., actuation event entries) may be entered to constitute the actuation data set. While only the exemplary details of the data structure of actuation data set 3 are shown in the electronic record 135 of FIG. 10, it should be appreciated that multiple actuation data sets of the electronic record 135 may have the same data structure as that shown for actuation data set 3 in FIG. 10.

The data structure of the actuation data set 3 702C of the electronic record 135 shown in FIG. 10 includes a start location field 704 (corresponding to T1 geo-location data shown in Table 2), an end location field 713 (corresponding to T2 geo-location data shown in Table 2), a start time field 706 (corresponding to T1 timestamp data shown in Table 2), an end time field 708 (corresponding to T2 timestamp data shown in Table 2) and a duration field 709 (corresponding to the duration Δt shown in Table 2). Additionally, the data structure for entry 3 702C includes one ore more fields 712A, 712B, . . . 712N for intermediate location data (corresponding to 1^(st) interval location data, 2^(nd) interval location data . . . Nth interval location data shown in Table 2). Finally, the data structure for the entry 3 702C may include one or more ticket information fields 714 (e.g., corresponding to Locate request data in Table 2) and one or more service-related information fields 716 (e.g., corresponding to Service provider ID, User ID, and Device ID in Table 2).

In addition to one or more actuation data sets corresponding to actuations of a marking device, the electronic record 135 shown in FIG. 10 may include one or more additional elements. For example, FIG. 10 shows an additional element 718 of the electronic record to store the total number of entries in the record. Furthermore, according to another embodiment, various other information that may be common to multiple (or all) actuation data sets of a given electronic record may be stored in one or more additional elements of the electronic record that are not contained within one or more of the actuation data sets themselves. For example, in one alternative implementation, one or more of the ticket information field 714, the service-related information field 716, and the marking material properties field 710, which are shown as part of the data structure for a given actuation data set of the electronic record, may instead be elements of the electronic record that are not included within any one actuation data set (e.g., the information contained in one or more of the ticket information field and the service-related information field may be common to all actuation data sets of a given electronic record).

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the marking device 110 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 may be configured (e.g., via particular instructions included in the marking data algorithm 134 executing on the processor 118, and/or various hardware modifications) to operate in multiple different modes so as to collect various information relating not only to a marking operation itself (marking information), but additionally (or alternatively) various information relating to the work site/dig area in which the marking operation is performed. For example, in one implementation, the marking device may be configured to operate in a first “marking mode” which essentially follows various aspects of the process outlined in FIG. 9, and also operate in a second “landmark identification mode” (or more simply “landmark mode”), in which the marking device acquires information relating to one or more environmental landmarks that may be germane to the marking operation (e.g., in and around the work site/dig area and/or generally in the vicinity of the marking operation).

More specifically, in a “marking mode,” marking material may be dispensed with respective actuations of the marking device and various information transmitted and/or stored in an electronic record attendant to this process, as discussed above. Alternatively, in a “landmark mode,” marking material is not necessarily dispensed with an actuation of the marking device (and in some instances the dispensing of marking material is specifically precluded); instead, a technician positions the marking device proximate to an environmental landmark of interest and, upon actuation, the marking device collects various information about the landmark (hereafter referred to as “landmark information”), which information may include, but is not limited to, geo-location data of an environmental landmark, type of environmental landmark, and a time stamp for any acquired information relating to an environmental landmark.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are similar to FIGS. 4A and 4B, and conceptually illustrate a portion of an actuation system 120 including a mechanical coupler 152, in which the marking device 110 has been modified to include a mode selector device so as to accommodate a landmark mode, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In a manner similar to that shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, FIG. 11A shows the actuator 142 in an un-actuated state, whereas FIG. 11B shows the actuator 142 in an actuated state. In the embodiment of FIGS. 11A and 11B, the modifications are such that, in the landmark mode, the marking device is precluded from dispensing markers or marking material, even though the actuator 142 may be actuated by a user.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, in this embodiment the marking device 110 further includes a mode selector device in the form of a bypass device 145 that is operated so as to impact and deflect the mechanical coupler 152 of the actuation system 120, such that the mechanical coupler 152 fails to cause the dispensing of a marking material upon actuation of the actuator 142. In FIG. 11A, the bypass device is shown in a first state (e.g., released) which allows the marking device to operate in marking mode as described above (i.e., the mechanical coupler is allowed to be displaced essentially vertically with actuation of the actuator 142 and thereby dispense markers). In FIG. 11B, the bypass device is shown in a second state (e.g., depressed) which allows the marking device to operate in landmark mode; in particular, the mechanical coupler 152 is deflected by the bypass device such that upon actuation of the actuator 142, the mechanical coupler 152 is not displaced vertically. In one example, with reference again to FIGS. 1C and 11B, when the mechanical coupler 152 is deflected by the bypass device 145, actuations of the actuator 142 do not effect full essentially up/down vertical movement of the mechanical coupler 152; as a result, the mechanical coupler fails to displace the actuation mechanism, and no pressure is applied to the spray nozzle of a paint dispenser (or dispensing mechanism of other types of marker dispensers). At the same time, however, actuation of the actuator 142 nonetheless provides an actuation signal 121 to the processor 118 (which may provide for logging of an actuation event entry as discussed above).

In various implementations, the bypass device 145 may be a locking and/or spring-loaded switching device (e.g., a press/release locking thumb switch) appropriately positioned along the housing of the marking device (e.g., near or on the handle), wherein the bypass device provides for both deflection of the mechanical coupler as well as opening/closure of electrical contacts so as to provide a mode signal 147 to the processor 118. For example, as shown in FIG. 11A, the first state (released) of the bypass device 145 may include an open contact state and no deflection of the mechanical coupler, whereas the second state shown in FIG. 11B (depressed) may include a closed contact state (e.g., in which the mode signal 147 is provided to the processor 118 as an interrupt event to indicate “landmark mode”) when the bypass device deflects the mechanical coupler 152.

In response to the mode signal 147 indicating landmark mode, the processor 118 may request timing information from the timing system and log into an electronic record a “landmark mode event entry” including a landmark mode time stamp associated with the landmark mode signal. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor may respond to the landmark mode signal by taking one or more other actions pursuant to execution of a portion of the marking data algorithm 134 including particular instructions to implement the landmark mode, such as providing for the selection of landmark categories and/or types (via the user interface 126 and menus provided on the display 146), and logging actuation event entries in an electronic record as “landmark event entries.” Further details of landmark mode operation of the marking device are discussed below in connection with FIG. 12.

In another exemplary implementation, rather than employing the bypass device 145 shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B as a mode selector device, a marking device configured to implement a landmark mode in which no marker or marking material is dispensed may be modified to include an actuator locking device as a mode selector device to prevent operation of the actuator 142. In essence, such a device would function in a manner similar to a “trigger lock.” Like the bypass device, the actuator locking device or “trigger lock” may not only mechanically impede operation of the actuator, but also include electrical switch contacts (opened/closed) so as to provide a mode signal to the processor to indicate a landmark mode when the actuator locking device is engaged to impede actuation. Because such an actuator locking device impedes operation of the actuator, the actuator itself cannot be employed to provide an actuation signal 121 to the processor to facilitate the logging into an electronic record of actuation event entries as “landmark event entries.” Accordingly, in implementations involving an actuator locking device, another aspect of the user interface (e.g., a button, switch, portion of the touch screen display, microphone to provide for voice-activation, etc.) is employed to provide a signal to the processor 118 to facilitate logging of an event (e.g., a “landmark event”) by the technician. Further details of logging of landmark events are discussed below in connection with FIG. 12.

Yet another exemplary implementation of a marking device modified to operate in landmark mode is based on the general implementation of an actuation system 120 shown in FIG. 5, in which the landmark mode is selected via the user interface 126 and/or display 146 (e.g., menu-driven GUI) rather than via a bypass device or actuator locking device; i.e., some functionality of the user interface itself provides for a mode selector device. With reference again to FIG. 5, dispensing of marking material in this implementation is controlled by a link transmitter 168. As discussed above in connection with FIG. 5, the link transmitter 168 may be responsive to the actuation signal 121 provided by sensor 160 with operation of the actuator 142, for example, or alternatively responsive to a signal provided by the processor 118 (such that dispensing of marking material may in part be under the control of the processor 118 executing particular instructions for this purpose). Accordingly, in this implementation, when a landmark mode is selected via the user interface 126, the marking device may be configured to either dispense marking material (by not impeding any control signals to the link transmitter 168) (e.g., so as to form one or more “landmark locate marks” on or near a target environmental landmark), or not to dispense marking material (by impeding control signals to the link transmitter 168 or otherwise controlling the link transmitter to not dispense marking material). In either case, the actuation signal 121 output by sensor 160 may nonetheless be provided to the processor 118 so as to facilitate logging of an actuation event entry upon actuation of the actuator 142, which in landmark mode may be designated as a “landmark event entry,” as discussed further below in connection with FIG. 12.

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of an exemplary process 1200, according to one embodiment of the present invention, for operating a marking device having a marking mode and a landmark mode so as to collect marking information and/or environmental landmark information during operation of the marking device, and generate an electronic record of such information. Several aspects of the process 1200 shown in FIG. 12 are substantially similar or identical to those discussed above in connection with FIG. 9; in particular, blocks 602 through 614 are the same in both FIGS. 9 and 12, and the blocks 616, 618, and 620 in FIG. 12 are additional aspects of the process 1200.

In the process 1200 outlined in FIG. 12, following commencement of a marking operation the locate technician may utilize the user interface 126 (e.g., press a button, operate a joy-stick, touch a touch screen display portion of a graphical user interface, speak into a microphone to provide a voice-activated command, etc.) to not only pause, restart, and/or indicate completion of the marking operation, but further to select a landmark mode of operation for the marking device. As noted above in the discussion of FIG. 9, any one or more of these actions may constitute interrupt events. For example, as indicated in block 616 of FIG. 12, if a technician selects “landmark mode” via the user interface, the user interface may provide a “landmark mode signal” to the processor. In response to this signal, the processor may request timing information from the timing system and log a “landmark mode event entry” including a landmark mode time stamp associated with the landmark mode signal. Additionally, or alternatively, the processor may respond to the landmark mode signal by taking one or more other actions pursuant to execution of a portion of the marking data algorithm 134 including particular instructions to implement the landmark mode (as discussed above, the landmark mode may be entered in alternative implementations via a mode signal provided to the processor 118 by a bypass device or an actuator locking device serving as a mode selector device).

Table 8 below provides an example of content and format for a mode select event entry that may be logged in a file for an electronic record and/or transmitted by the marking device. The example mode select event entry shown below in Table 8 follows a similar format to that used for the event entry examples provided in Tables 2-5 above.

TABLE 8 Format INFO+MODE: (DATE) (TIME) (WAND_ID) (JOB_ID) (MODE) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+MODE: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:03:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) (LANDMARK) <CR> <LF>

In the process outlined in FIG. 12, subsequent to selection of the landmark mode, as noted in block 618 the process may provide for the selection of a particular category and/or type of landmark for which information is to be collected. To this end, in one implementation the processor 118 controls the user interface 126 (including display 146) so as to display information to the technician to facilitate such a selection. In particular, a landmark selection submenu may be displayed, including one or more categories of landmarks displayed in any of a variety of manners (e.g., as a list of text entries, an arrangement of icons symbolizing respective categories, labeled symbols, etc.). Examples of landmark categories that may be displayed in such a submenu include, but are not limited to: 1) “Natural Gas;” 2) “Water/Sewer;” 3) “Power Line;” 4) “Phone Line;” 5) “CATV Line;” and 6) “Other.”

Upon selection via the user interface of one of the landmark categories displayed on the submenu, the processor may control the user interface so as to display yet another submenu indicating various types of landmarks that fall within the selected category, so as to facilitate selection of a particular type of landmark for which information is to be collected. Examples of types of landmarks that may be displayed and available for selection via the user interface, for each of the above identified categories, include, but are not limited to:

-   -   Natural Gas: 1) Service Meter; 2) Manifold; 3) Test Station; 4)         Regulator Station; 5) Vent/Vent stack; 6) Valve; 7) Trace         Wire; 8) Anode; 9) Branch Service; 10) Capped Service; 11)         Compressor Station; 12) Farm Tap; 13) Service Regulator; 14)         Service Line; 15) Service Riser; 16) Shut Off Valve; 17)         Tee; 18) Valve Box; 19) Transmission Pipeline; 20)         Main/Distribution Main; 21) Offset; 22) Low Pressure; 23) Medium         Pressure; 24) High Pressure     -   Water/Sewer: 1) Transmission Main; 2) Water Main; 3) Manhole; 4)         Valve; 5) Clean out; 6) Sewer Lateral; 7) Water Meter; 8) Storm         Sewer 9) Sanitary Sewer; 10) Pump Station; 11) Tap; 12)         Faucet; 13) Fire Hydrant; 14) Tracer Wire     -   Power Line: 1) Pole; 2) Anchor; 3) Transformer; 4) Manhole; 5)         Handhole; 6) Street light; 7) Electrical Riser; 8) Primary; 9)         Secondary; 10) Switch; 11) Fused Switch; 12) Circuit         Breaker; 13) Duct; 14) Power Plant; 15) Transmission         Substation; 16) Power Substation; 17) Service Line; 18)         Meter; 19) Pedestal; 20) Switch Gear; 21) Switch Cabinet; 22)         Buried Transformer; 23) Riser; 24) Red Top Tracer     -   Phone Line: 1) Pole; 2) Anchor; 3) Manhole; 4) Handhole; 5)         Subscriber Line Carrier; 6) Digital Loop Carrier; 7) Remote         Terminal; 8) Cross Box; 9) Continual environment Vault; 10)         Fiber Optics; 11) Encapsulated Plant; 12) Building Terminal; 13)         Terminal; 14) Aerial; 15) Buried; 16) Underground; 17) Duct         Run; 18) Central Office; 19) Buried Joint; 20) Splice     -   CATV Line: 1) Pole; 2) Anchor; 3) Headend; 4) Manhole; 5)         Handhole; 6) Transmitter; 7) Fiber Transmitter; 8) Receiver; 9)         Fiber Receiver; 10) HUB Location; 11) Power Supply/Inserter; 12)         Fiber Node; 13) Amplifier; 14) Ped; 15) Dog House; 16)         Subscriber Service Line; 17) Trunk Station; 18) Trunk Line         Amplifier; 19) AC Power Supply Pedestal     -   Other: various natural, architectural, or infrastructure-related         landmarks, such as buildings, curbs, “tagged” curbs         (intentionally marked curbs that are likely to survive         excavation, to serve as points of reference to validate marking         operations), streets, driveways, property boundaries, trees and         other landscape elements, termination points of abandoned         facilities, etc.

While the foregoing discussion of landmark categories and types provides one construct in which a wide variety of landmarks are made available for selection by the technician, it should be appreciated that in other implementations, options for landmark selection may be presented in different manners. For example, a more succinct list of landmark types may be presented to the technician to facilitate easy selection (e.g., a more limited set of about a dozen more common landmark types that might be encountered in the field, such as “telephone pole,” “fire hydrant,” “meter,” “manhole,” “curb,” etc.). More generally, any number and variety of landmark types may be presented to the technician via the user interface in alphabetically ordered lists, numerically ordered lists, or other types of ordered text-based or symbolic arrangements, for example.

In another exemplary implementation, the categories and/or types of landmarks made available for selection via the user interface may be based at least in part on a type of facility being marked when the marking device was in a marking mode prior to selection of the landmark mode. For example, consider a technician using the marking device in the marking mode and in the process of marking a power line. In one implementation, upon switching to landmark mode, the user is first presented with selection options for landmark category and/or type that are more closely related to a power line (e.g., a more limited subset of option types including “pole,” “transformer,” “pedestal,” etc.). In one aspect, the technician may nonetheless still have the option to select other categories and/or types of landmarks, but as a default the technician is first presented with options related to the type of facility last being marked. In another aspect, the selection options for landmark category and/or type may be specifically and intentionally limited to those options that are most germane to the type of facility last being marked in the previous marking mode (i.e., immediately prior to entry into the landmark mode).

In yet another exemplary implementation, the user interface may include a microphone and the processor may be configured to accept and process audible commands, such that landmark category and/or type selection may be accomplished via voice-activated commands. For example, once landmark mode is selected, the technician may select a particular landmark category or type by simply speaking into the microphone (e.g., “telephone pole,” “fire hydrant,” “meter,” “manhole,” “curb,” etc.).

In addition to, or as an alternative to, selection of landmark category and/or type, block 618 may provide for the entry of any of a variety of text information for inclusion as part of the landmark information in an electronic record. For example, in some exemplary implementations, via the user interface and/or display the technician may enter text-based information relating to an environmental landmark (e.g., as an offset to another topological, architectural, or infrastructure feature in proximity to the environmental landmark—“telephone pole 5 ft. from back of curb”). Additionally, in a manner similar to landmark type selection, the user interface/display may provide for menu-driven selection via a GUI of predetermined options for additional text-based information to be included as part of the landmark information (e.g., a set of “stock” text messages for selection to be included as part of landmark information).

Following selection of landmark category and/or type in block 618 of the process 1200 shown in FIG. 12, and/or entry/section of any text-based information in block 618 of the process 1200 shown in FIG. 12, in block 620 actuations of the actuator 142 in landmark mode cause the processor to collect various “landmark information” with each actuation, which information is logged in an electronic record as a “landmark event entry” (rather than an actuation event entry, as noted in Table 3 above). Furthermore, as noted above, the processor 118 and/or the link transmitter 168 of the actuation system 120 may be particularly configured to either dispense or not dispense marking material upon actuations in landmark mode. Essentially, in landmark mode, the technician positions the marking device proximate to a selected category/type of landmark and actuates the actuator to acquire various information relating to the landmark (e.g., geo-location data, type, time stamp).

In general, the processor may be configured to communicate with (e.g., poll) any of a variety of input devices to collect landmark information to be logged in an electronic record. As discussed above in connection with the marking mode (refer again to FIG. 2), such information may be acquired from any of a variety of input devices including, but not limited to, the location tracking system 130, the timing system 128, the communications interface 124 (e.g., a USB port or other port), the user interface 126, and the local memory 122.

In particular, any data that is available from the location tracking system (e.g., any information available in various NMEA data messages, such as coordinated universal time, date, latitude, north/south indicator, longitude, east/west indicator, number and identification of satellites used in the position solution, number and identification of GPS satellites in view and their elevation, azimuth and SNR values, dilution of precision values) may be collected as landmark information and logged in an electronic record as part of a landmark event entry. Additionally, information collected from the user interface in the form of a text entry by the technician may be included in a landmark event entry; for example, in one implementation, upon actuation of the actuator, the processor may prompt the technician via the display of the user interface to enter text notes, if desired (e.g., the technician may describe an offset of a target environmental landmark from an architectural, topographical, or infrastructure feature to compliment geographic information provided by the location tracking system), and this textual information may serve as landmark information. In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that “landmark information” may include a wide variety of information components including, but not limited to, one or more of geographical information (e.g., from the location tracking system), timing information (e.g., from the location tracking system and/or the timing system), landmark category and/or type information (e.g., selected or entered via the user interface), textual information (e.g., entered via the user interface), or other information (e.g., received from the local memory and/or the communications interface).

Table 9 below provides an example of content and format for a landmark event entry that may be logged in a file for an electronic record and/or transmitted by the marking device when in landmark mode. The example landmark event entry shown below in Table 9 also follows a similar format to that used for the event entry examples provided in Tables 2-5 above.

TABLE 9 Format INFO+LMRK: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (CATEGORY, TYPE)(TEXT) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+LMRK: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:44) GPS($GPGGA,120443,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) LMRK(3, 12) (“Panel mounted rear wall of shed”)<CR><LF>

In the example landmark event entry given in Table 9, the landmark information includes a time stamp (e.g., DATE and TIME), geographical information (e.g., GPS data), category/type information, and text-based information for an environmental landmark. The notation LMRK (3,12) in the example denotes a category 3, type 12 landmark which, in the exemplary listings provided above, corresponds to “Power Line,” “Circuit Breaker.” It should be appreciated that the event entry shown in Table 9 is provided primarily for purposes of illustration, and that a variety of other or additional landmark information may be included in landmark event entries, as noted above.

As with the event entry examples provided in Tables 2-5 above, the exemplary format for a mode select and landmark event entry as shown in Tables 8 and 9 may be included in either an ASCII and XML file format for an electronic record that is stored and/or transmitted by the marking device (in which a particular naming scheme/format may be adopted to identify files/electronic records, such as “ServerID_WandID_Job ID”). It should also be appreciated that an electronic record generated by a multi-mode marking device in some instances may include a mixture of actuation event entries and landmark event entries, actuation event entries without any landmark event entries, and landmark event entries without any actuation event entries.

Yet another alternative format for storing and organizing landmark information in an electronic record, according to one embodiment of the invention, is shown in Tables 10 and 11 below. By way of example, Table 10 shows the format and content of an electronic record entry for a utility pole, which includes one geo-location data point, and Table 11 shows the format and content of an electronic record entry for a pedestal, which includes four geo-location data points (i.e., one for each corner of the pedestal). It should be appreciated that the format and content shown below in Tables 10 and 11 is provided primarily for purposes of illustration and, as noted above, a variety of format and content may be included in an electronic record entry for landmark information. The examples provided in Tables 10 and 11 may constitute an “original” electronic record generated by the processor pursuant to the process 1200 shown in FIG. 12, or may be derived from raw data collected and logged pursuant to the process 1200 (e.g., as a flat file, an ASCII formatted file, or an XML formatted file) and subsequently reorganized and particularly formatted. It should also be appreciated that the examples provided in Tables 10 and 11 illustrate that landmark information may be included in an electronic record together with one or both of ticket information and service-related information, as discussed above in connection with electronic records including various marking information.

TABLE 10 Example record of data acquired for a utility pole while in landmark identification mode of operation Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Type of EL Type = utility pole timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:17.5 geo-location data 2650.9256, N, 08003.5234, W Other info (text entry) “5 ft. from back of curb” Locate request data Requestor: XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address: 222 Main St, Orlando, FL

TABLE 11 Example record of data acquired for a pedestal while in landmark identification mode of operation Record Service provider ID 0482 # 2 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Type of EL Type = pedestal timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:17.5 geo-location data 2650.9256, N, 08003.5234, W Type of EL Type = pedestal timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:21.2 geo-location data 2650.9256, N, 08003.5226, W Type of EL Type = pedestal timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:26.7 geo-location data 2650.9288, N, 08003.5188, W Type of EL Type = pedestal timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:33.5 geo-location data 2650.9321, N, 08003.5177, W Other info (text entry) “7 ft from pavement edge” Locate request data Requestor: XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address: 222 Main St, Orlando, FL

FIG. 13 is a block diagram similar to FIG. 10 and illustrates an exemplary data structure for an electronic record 135 that includes both marking information and landmark information (i.e., that may be generated by and/or based on information collected during the process 1200 discussed above in connection with FIG. 12 and based on the organization of information shown in Tables 9 and 10 above). Like the exemplary electronic record shown in FIG. 10, the record 135 in FIG. 13 includes a file identifier 701 (e.g., one or more of Job ID, WandID, ServerID, etc.) and a plurality of actuation data sets 1 through N (with reference numbers 702A, 702B, 702C . . . 702N), wherein each actuation data set is associated with a corresponding actuation of a marking device. In FIG. 13, also as in FIG. 10, additional details of the data structure for actuation data set 3 702C are shown, relating to marking information collected in marking mode. However, unlike FIG. 10, FIG. 13 shows that the actuation data set 2 702B relates to landmark information acquired pursuant to an actuation in landmark mode; in particular, the actuation data set 2 702B includes a date/time field 1702, a type field 1704, and a geo-location field 1706 corresponding to a landmark event entry.

In other respects, the data structure in FIG. 13 is similar to that shown in FIG. 10. For example, various other information that may be common to multiple (or all) actuation data sets of a given electronic record may be stored in one or more additional elements of the electronic record that are not contained within one or more of the actuation data sets themselves (e.g., one or more of the ticket information field 714, the service-related information field 716, and the marking material properties field 710, which are shown as part of the data structure for a given actuation data set of the electronic record, may instead be elements of the electronic record that are common to all actuation data sets of a given electronic record).

Once an actuation of the marking device in landmark mode has been logged as a landmark event entry, the process 1200 shown in FIG. 12 returns to block 610. At this point, the technician is provided (via the user interface/display) with the options of pausing the job (block 610), restarting the job if previously paused (block 612), stopping the job and indicating completion (block 614) or selecting landmark mode again (block 616) for the next actuation. If the technician selects none of these options, the process returns to block 608, at which point further polling and/or interrupt events are logged (i.e., an actuation event entry capturing marking information is logged with the next actuation of the actuator), as discussed above in connection with FIG. 9, Accordingly, after an actuation in landmark mode, in one exemplary implementation the marking device defaults back to the marking mode, unless and until the technician selects the landmark mode again for a subsequent actuation.

In an alternative implementation not shown in FIG. 12, following actuation of the marking device in landmark mode, the processor may control the user interface/display to provide an option to the technician to exit landmark mode (rather than automatically presenting the options of pause job, restart job, stop job, or landmark mode). In this manner, the marking device remains in landmark mode for subsequent actuations until the technician makes a menu selection to exit landmark mode, at which point the process 1200 returns to block 610.

In yet another embodiment, the processor 118, executing marking data algorithm 134 in landmark mode, may be configured to generate an essentially continuous stream of data packets representing various event entries logged by the marking device (e.g., as shown above in Tables 2-9). As discussed above in connection with the marking mode, each data packet may include a header, one or more flag fields, and one or more information payload fields. To accommodate both a marking mode and a landmark mode, one flag field may be set or reset upon selection of the landmark mode so as to identify the contents of any information payload field in the data packet as landmark information as opposed to marking information. Similarly, as discussed above, one or more other flag fields may be set (or reset) upon occurrence of one or more predetermined interrupt events (e.g., pull/depress actuator, release actuator, marking dispenser in, marking dispenser out, low power, communication link fail, etc.). In this manner, a continuous stream of data may be provided as an output by the processor, in which certain interrupt events, such as an actuation and/or release of the actuator, “tag” certain data packets via an interrupt flag, and certain data packets also may be tagged as generated in marking mode or landmark mode. In yet other aspects of this embodiment, all data packets thusly generated may be stored in the file opened for the electronic record and/or transmitted from the marking device in essentially real time; alternatively, only certain data packets with one or more predetermined flags set may be stored and/or transmitted.

Thus, in landmark identification mode, a locate technician may employ an appropriately configured marking device to capture the types and locations of environmental landmarks of interest that are present at the work site and/or in the general environs of a dig area. While in landmark mode, the locate technician may approach a certain environmental landmark, then select the type of the environmental landmark via user interface, position the marking device (e.g., place the tip of marking device) proximate to the target environmental landmark, and then actuate the marking device. In doing so, the marking device logs in an electronic record landmark information including, for example, the type of the target environmental landmark, the geo-location of the target environmental landmark, and a time stamp in an electronic record. The locate technician may move from one environmental landmark to the next until information about all environmental landmarks of interest has been captured. Additionally, one or more data points (e.g., “landmark event entries”) may be captured for any given environmental landmark.

III. LOCATE DEVICE FOR GENERATING ELECTRONIC RECORDS OF LOCATE OPERATIONS

Other embodiments of the present invention relate to locate devices, the collection of “locate information” associated with a locate operation, and generation of an electronic record of such locate information. With reference again to FIG. 1A, as discussed above a locate device (or so-called “locate set”) may include at least one transmitter and a locate receiver. In one embodiment of the present invention, one or both of a locate transmitter and a locate receiver may be particularly configured, according to various concepts discussed above in connection with marking devices and other concepts discussed in further detail below, to acquire locate information relating to a locate operation, generate an electronic record of the acquired locate information, and store, transmit, analyze or otherwise process the acquired locate information.

Various types of locate information may be generated during, or otherwise associated with, the use of a locate set to perform a locate operation. For example, locate information related to the use of the transmitter may include, but is not limited to, information about the applied signal power, the applied signal frequency, the location of the transmitter, the connection point type (i.e., the manner in which connection is made to the target object, such as direct connection, inductive coupling, etc.), an identification of the transmitter unit (e.g., serial number), information about how the transmitter unit is grounded (if at all), and an indication of whether a sufficient electrical connection has been made to the target object (e.g., some transmitters produce a “continuity signal” indicative of the quality of the connection between the transmitter and the target object). Locate information related to the use of the locate receiver may include, but is not limited to, an identification of the locate receiver (e.g., a serial number), the mode of operation of the locate receiver (e.g., peak mode v. null mode), the frequency to which the locate receiver is tuned, the gain of the locate receiver, the frequency of a detected magnetic field, the amplitude/strength of a detected magnetic field, the electrical current of the detected signal, the location of the locate receiver, and a depth measurement taken by the locate receiver (which may be used, for example, as additional information regarding a target object). In addition, locate information relating to the locate operation itself may include, but is not limited to, information about the target object, the location of the locate site, the party requesting the locate, the party performing the locate, and whether any locate operations have previously been performed for this site.

According to some aspects of the invention, locate information relating to a locate set, and/or locate operation more generally, may be recorded, transmitted, and/or processed, for example, to enable evaluation of the performance of the locate technician, evaluation of the operation of the locate equipment, reconstruction of the actions taken by the locate technician during the locate operation, and/or to facilitate comparison of collected data to historical data. In one exemplary embodiment, a locate receiver is configured to store and/or transmit locate information relating to a locate set and/or a locate operation, and in some implementations generate an electronic record of at least some of the locate information. Examples of locate-related information that may be logged into an electronic record may include any of the types of information described above or any suitable combinations of information of interest, and generally may include, but are not limited to:

-   -   timing information (e.g., one or more time stamps) associated         with one or more events occurring during a given locate         operation;     -   geographic information (e.g., one or more geographic         coordinates) associated with one or more events of a locate         operation (in some instances, the geographic information may be         accompanied by timing information, such as a time stamp, for         each acquisition of geographic information); and/or geographic         diagnostics information (e.g., GPS diagnostics information, such         as, but not limited to, the quality of a GPS signal, the number         of satellites in view of the GPS receiver, etc.);     -   service-related information: one or more identifiers for the         locate technician performing the locate operation, the locate         contractor (service provider) dispatching the locate technician,         and/or the party requesting the locate operation;     -   ticket information: information relating to one or more         facilities to be located, location information (e.g., an         address, geo-coordinates, and/or text description) relating to         the work site and/or dig area in which the locate and marking         operation is performed, ground type information (e.g., a         description of the ground at which the locate is performed),         excavator information, other text-based information, etc.     -   target object information: information about the target object         (e.g., facility) to be located, such as the type of object,         expected depth of object, etc.;     -   locate performance information: information entered, detected         and/or sensed as part of performing the locate operation, such         as ground type in the area of the locate operation (e.g., grass,         pavement, etc., which could also or alternatively be indicated         in ticket information), magnetic field strength and frequency,         electric current magnitude, depth of the located object, the         mode of operation of the locate receiver (e.g., peak v. null         detection modes), the gain of the locate receiver, etc. With         respect to locate receivers, the “gain” is typically a measure         of the degree of sensitivity of a locate receiver antenna that         is picking up a signal emanating from along an underground         facility (alternatively, “gain” may be viewed as a degree of         amplification being applied to a received signal). Gain may be         expressed in terms of any scale (e.g., 0-100), as a numeric         value or percentage. “Signal strength” (or “magnetic field         strength”) refers to the strength of a received signal at a         given gain value; signal strength similarly may be expressed in         terms of any scale, as a numeric value or percentage. Generally         speaking, higher signal strengths at lower gains typically         indicate more reliable information from a locate receiver, but         this may not necessarily be the case for all locate operations;     -   locate receiver information: information about the locate         receiver, such as identification of the locate receiver (e.g.,         serial number), make and model of the locate receiver, mode of         operation, battery level, etc.; and     -   transmitter information: information about any transmitter and         transmitter signal (also referred to herein as an applied         signal) utilized for the locate operation, such as transmitter         type, connection type, applied signal frequency, transmitter         power, whether a continuity indication is provided for the         applied signal, etc.

One or more electronic records based on the locate information described above, or any other locate-related information, may be generated, logged/stored in local memory of the locate receiver, formatted in any of a variety of manners (as discussed above in connection with the marking device), saved as any of a variety of file types having any of a variety of data structures, processed and/or analyzed at the locate receiver itself, and/or transmitted to another device (for example, to a computer or, in those embodiments in which multiple locate receivers are used to complete a same locate operation, to another locate receiver) for storage, processing and/or analysis.

FIGS. 14 and 15 illustrate a functional block diagram and perspective view, respectively, of one example of a data acquisition system 1600 including a locate receiver 1610 and optionally a remote computer 1650, according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown, the locate receiver 1610 comprises detection electronics 1620, control electronics 1630, and a power source 1614 configured to power the detection electronics 1620 and the control electronics 1630. The detection electronics 1620 comprise an RF antenna 1624, a detection circuit 1626, and a processing circuit 1628. The control electronics 1630 comprise a processor 1632 coupled to a local memory 1634, a communication interface 1636, a user interface 1638, a timing system 1640, a location tracking system 1642, and an actuation system 1621.

Some of the components illustrated in FIG. 14 are similarly named to some components in FIG. 2 relating to a marking device. According to some embodiments, one or more of the components appearing in FIG. 14 may be the same as, or substantially similar to, components in FIG. 2. For example, in some embodiments one or more of the following components appearing in FIGS. 2 and 14 may be the same as, or substantially similar to, each other (and therefore may function in the same or a substantially similar manner): power source 114 and power source 1614; remote computer 150 and remote computer 1650; communication interface 124 and communication interface 1636; user interface 126 and user interface 1638; timing system 128 and timing system 1640; location tracking system 130 and location tracking system 1642; processor 118 and processor 1632; local memory 122 and local memory 1634; actuation system 120 and actuation system 1621. With respect to actuation system 1621, it should be appreciated that there is no marker dispensed by the locate receiver 1610 shown in FIG. 14, but the actuation system 1621 may nonetheless initiate or control logging of data in a manner similar to that discussed above in connection with the marking device 110, including taking of a depth measurement or performance of some other function of the locate receiver 1610, as described further below.

In some embodiments, a user may commence a locate operation with the locate receiver by inputting various information to the locate receiver, and/or selecting various operating options, via the user interface. As a non-limiting example, the user may select from various menu options (using the user interface and display as a menu-driven GUI), and or manually enter via the user interface, the type of target object/facility to be located, the address of the locate operation, the ground type (e.g., grass, pavement, etc.), whether or not a separate transmitter is being used, the mode of the locate receiver (e.g., Peak v. Null), whether the locate receiver is being operated in landmark mode or not (described further below), or any other information of interest to a locate operation.

In one exemplary implementation, the user may first power on the locate receiver and log on, for example by entering a user ID. The user may then navigate through a menu on a touch screen of the user interface to select the target object to be located, for example selecting from among a list of options (e.g., including facility types such as gas, sewer, cable, and phone, etc.). Similarly, the user may then navigate through a menu to select the ground type in the area of the locate operation (e.g., selecting from a list of options including grass, pavement, dirt, etc.). The user may then similarly select or input the frequency of any applied signal provided by a transmitter, for example using a keypad of the user interface or a menu-driven GUI. It should be provided that these examples of user actions are non-limiting, and furthermore that in some embodiments one or more of the pieces of information listed may be detected automatically and not be input/selected by the user.

Once the target object/facility type and any other relevant or desired information is input and/or selected by the technician, and the applied signal from the transmitter is coupled to the target object, the locate receiver may be used in a variety of manners by the technician for a locate operation, in which the technician generally positions (e.g., sweeps) the locate receiver over an area in which they expect to detect an underground facility. More specifically, the technician positions the locate receiver such that the RF antenna 1624 (which may include more than one antenna, as described further below) may receive/detect a magnetic field emitted by the target object (see underground facility 1515 in FIG. 1A).

In some embodiments, the locate receiver 1610 is capable of operating in a null mode (e.g., capable of detecting a null signal when positioned over an object (e.g., facility) emitting a magnetic field), such that RF antenna 1624 may comprise a null detection antenna. Alternatively, the locate receiver 1610 is capable of operating in a peak detection mode (e.g., capable of detecting a peak signal when over an object (e.g., facility) emitting a magnetic field), and the RF antenna 1624 comprises two peak detection antennae, which may be positioned substantially parallel to each other but at different positions within the locate receiver (e.g., at different heights). In some embodiments, the locate receiver 1610 is capable of operating in both peak detection and null detection modes, and the RF antenna 1624 may comprise three antennae, e.g., one null detection antenna and two peak detection antennae. However, RF antenna 1624 may comprise any other number, type, and orientation of antennae, as the locate receivers described herein are not limited in these respects.

The RF antenna 1624 may be coupled to the detection circuit 1626 such that the signal(s) received/detected by the RF antenna 1624 may be provided to the detection circuit 1626 as an output signal of the RF antenna. The output signal of the RF antenna may be any frequency detectable by the antenna, and in some embodiments may be between approximately 512 Hz and 1 MHz, although these non-limiting frequencies are provided primarily for purposes of illustration. As mentioned, the output signal of the RF antenna 1624, which in some embodiments is an analog signal, may be provided to detection circuit 1626, which may perform various functions. For example, the detection circuit 1626 may perform various “front-end” operations on the output signal of RF antenna 1624, such as filtering, buffering, frequency shifting or modulation, and/or pre-amplifying the output signal. Furthermore, the detection circuit 1626 may perform additional functions, such as amplifying and/or digitizing the output signal provided by RF antenna 1624. It should be appreciated, however, that the types of functions described as being performed by detection circuit 1626 are non-limiting examples, and that other functions may additionally or alternatively be performed.

After detection circuit 1626 has operated on the signal from RF antenna 1624 (e.g., by filtering, buffering, amplifying, and/or digitizing, among other possible operations), it may provide a signal to processing circuit 1628. The processing circuit 1628 may process the signal(s) provided by detection circuit 1626 in any suitable manner to determine any information of interest. For example, according to one embodiment, the processing circuit 1628 may process the signal(s) from detection circuit 1626 to determine a magnetic field strength of a magnetic field detected by RF antenna 1624. The processing circuit 1628 may process the signal(s) from detection circuit 1626 to determine an amplitude and/or direction of the electrical current creating the magnetic field(s) detected by RF antenna 1624. Processing circuit 1628 may perform operations to calculate, for example, the depth and location of the target facility based on the electromagnetic fields detected by RF antenna 1624. Processing circuit 1628 may be an analog circuit or a digital microprocessor, or any other suitable processing component for performing one or more of the operations described above, or any other operations of interest with respect to signals detected by RF antenna 1624. Also, it should be appreciated that processing circuit 1628 and processor 1632 (described in further detail below) may be a single processor in some embodiments, as the illustration of them as distinct in FIG. 14 is only one non-limiting example.

Processor 1632 of control electronics 1630 may be any suitable processor for controlling and/or coordinating operation of the detection electronics 1620 and/or control electronics 1630. For example, the processor 1632 may be any general-purpose processor, controller, or microcontroller device. In some embodiments, controls logging of data (e.g., locate information) from the processing circuit 1628, timing system 1640, and/or location tracking system 1642 to the local memory 1634. The manner in which such data may be logged to the local memory 1634 may depend on the type of data being logged, as the operation of locate receiver 1610 is not limited in this respect.

For example, data from timing system 1640 and/or location tracking system 1642 may be automatically logged continuously (e.g., in the form of streaming packets with flag fields, as described below, or in any other continuous form) or periodically to the local memory 1634, may be logged in response to one or more types of events (e.g., may be logged automatically when a particular event occurs), and/or may be logged at any suitable times. In particular, in one implementation, logging may occur at periodic intervals during performance of a locate operation, such as every second, every five seconds, every minute, or at any other suitable time interval. According to another embodiment, timing information and/or geographic information from timing system 1640 and location tracking system 1642, respectively, may be logged in response to particular types of events, such as detecting an underground facility or detecting the absence of an underground facility. Such events may be identified by signals output by processing circuit 1628 to processor 1632. As a non-limiting example, timing information and/or geographic information may be logged when a characteristic (e.g., magnetic field strength) of a signal detected by RF antenna 1624 is greater than a particular threshold value, which may be indicated by a signal output from processing circuit 1628 to processor 1632, and which occurrence may be indicative of the presence of an underground facility. Similarly, in some embodiments time timing information and/or geographic information may be logged when a signal detected by RF antenna 1624 has a magnitude above a first threshold and the gain of the locate receiver 1610 is above a second threshold. It should be appreciated that various combinations of detected signals detected by locate receiver 1610 may be used to trigger logging of information (e.g., timing information and/or geographic information) to local memory. It should also be appreciated that any information available from the location tracking system 1642 (e.g., any information available in various NMEA data messages, such as coordinated universal time, date, latitude, north/south indicator, longitude, east/west indicator, number and identification of satellites used in the position solution, number and identification of GPS satellites in view and their elevation, azimuth and SNR values, dilution of precision values) may be included in geographic information constituting all or a portion of logged locate information.

In some embodiments, information (e.g., timing information and/or geographic information) may be logged in response to detection of a pattern of events, or deviation from a pattern of events. For example, a pattern of magnetic field strength magnitudes (e.g., a relatively constant magnetic field strength for a given time, an increasing magnetic field strength, a decreasing magnetic field strength, etc.) may be detected by the locate receiver, which may trigger logging of timing information and/or geographic information. Deviation from a pattern, such as a historical pattern or expected pattern may also trigger logging of information. For example, a user's historical use patterns of a locate receiver may be compared to information collected about the use of the locate receiver during a given job, and if a deviation is detected then logging of timing and/or geographic information may be triggered. The patterns or deviations from patterns may relate to patterns in magnetic field strength, magnetic field frequency, signal gain, user operation, any other information described herein, or any combination of such information.

In some embodiments, alternatively or in addition to “automatic” logging of locate information based on some condition or event, a user of the locate receiver 1610 may “manually” trigger logging of timing information, geographic information, and/or any other data associated with a locate operation or locate receiver (locate information), for example by manipulating a control (e.g., button, knob, joystick) of the user interface 1638, or by actuating an actuator 1641 (e.g., a trigger-pull mechanism similar to the actuator 142 of the marking device 110 shown in FIG. 3) integrated or otherwise associated with the locate receiver (as shown in FIG. 15), which may be part of the actuation system 1621 and which may cause a signal to be sent to the processor 1632 to initiate logging of locate information. For example, according to some embodiments a user may initiate the locate receiver 1610 taking a depth measurement by depressing a pushbutton of the user interface 1638, or pulling/squeezing the actuator 1641, which may also trigger the logging of timing information and/or geographic information from timing system 1640 and location tracking system 1642. The depth measurement data, time data, and/or location data may then be logged in an electronic record in local memory 1634.

It should be appreciated that while the foregoing discussion focuses on logging locate information to local memory 1634, the locate information may also, or alternatively, be transmitted to remote computer 1650 via communication interface 1636. As with logging locate information to local memory 1634, the transmission of locate information to remote computer 1650 may be performed continuously, periodically in response to one or more types of events, in response to user input or actuation of an actuator, or in any other suitable manner.

As discussed above in connection with the marking device 110, in yet another embodiment, the processor 1632 of the locate receiver 1610 may be configured to continuously collect various available locate information (e.g., repeatedly/regularly poll all available input devices and other components of the locate receiver) and generate an essentially continuous stream of data packets including locate information. In one aspect of this embodiment, each data packet of locate information may include a header, one or more flag fields, and one or more information payload fields. For example, in one implementation, the header for each packet may include one or more of a job ID (e.g., ticket identifier), technician ID, device ID (e.g., serial number), packet type ID, and/or a time stamp corresponding to logging of information/generation of the packet. Each packet also may include one or more payload fields for carrying information provided by the polled device(s) or components of the locate receiver, and one or more flag fields that are set (or reset) upon occurrence of one or more predetermined interrupt events (e.g., signal strength from receiver antenna exceeding a predetermined threshold, low power, communication link fail, etc.). In this manner, a continuous stream of data may be provided as an output by the processor, in which certain interrupt events, such as an actuation and/or release of an actuator, or other event-based logging of locate information, “tag” certain data packets via an interrupt flag. In yet other aspects of this embodiment, all data packets thusly generated may be stored in the file opened for the electronic record and/or transmitted from the locate device in essentially real time; alternatively, only certain data packets with one or more predetermined flags set may be stored and/or transmitted.

As with those embodiments relating to a marking device previously described in section II of this application, various “locate event entries” including locate information corresponding to different events relating to use and operation of one or more locate devices may be logged in a file for an electronic record and/or transmitted by the locate device(s) described herein. Various exemplary formats for these locate event entries are now described, although it should be appreciated that various other entries and formats are possible, as those shown and described below are provided primarily for purposes of illustration.

Job Started/Paused/Restarted/Completed Events: As with the marking devices described above, one event entry format for a locate receiver according to an embodiment of the present invention provides information about when a locate operation (“job”) was started and completed in addition to capturing details about if and when the job was paused and restarted. Such an entry may substantially take the form of the analogous entry in Table 2, understanding that the “WAND_ID” portion of the entry may be replaced by a “LOCATE_RECEIVER_ID” portion.

Actuation Events: As has been described, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, a locate receiver may be operated to collect and/or transmit locate information upon actuation by a user. Table 12 illustrates an example of an entry relating to the actuation event. Locate information from one or more input devices/other components of the locate device may be recorded upon actuation to provide information about the job in progress. The facility type information may be entered/selected by a user as described previously, and may be recorded in the event, for example, according to the color-coding scheme of Table 7.

TABLE 12 Format INFO+ LCTR: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (FACILITY TYPE) (GROUND TYPE) (MAGNETIC FIELD STRENGTH AS % OF FULL SCALE info) (DETECTED SIGNAL FREQUENCY) (GAIN) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+LCTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:44) GPS($GPGGA,120443,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) FACILITY TYPE (YELLOW) GROUND TYPE (PAVEMENT) STRENGTH(80) FREQUENCY(512) GAIN (10) <CR><LF> INFO+LCTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:45) GPS($GPGGA,120445,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) FACILITY TYPE (YELLOW) GROUND TYPE (GRASS) STRENGTH(81) FREQUENCY (512) GAIN (10) <CR><LF> INFO+LCTR: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:46) GPS($GPGGA,120446,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08,0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) FACILITY TYPE (YELLOW) GROUND TYPE (DIRT) STRENGTH(80) FREQUENCY(512) GAIN (11) <CR><LF>

Locate Device Status Events: The status event of a locate device collects various locate-related information and/or information on operating characteristics of the locate device on a periodic basis while a job is in progress (e.g., pursuant to processor polls). The entry may be similar to that illustrated in Table 4 for marking devices, although the information may relate to the locate aspect of a job. An example is shown below in Table 13. In the non-limiting example, the entries include information about the mode of the locate receiver (e.g., peak v. null). It should be appreciated, however, that other information may additionally or alternatively be included in the event entry.

TABLE 13 Format INFO+LCTSTAT: (DATE) (TIME) (GPS data) (MODE status) (MEMORY used in %) (BATTERY level) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+LCTSTAT: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:04:00) GPS($GPGGA,120400,4807.038,N,01131.000,E,1,08, 0.9,545.4,M,46.9,M,,*47) MODE(PEAK) MEM(65) BAT(3)<CR><LF>

Error Events: As with the discussion of Table 5 in the context of a marking device, one or more types of error events may be logged in association with a locate device. The errors may correspond to a malfunction of a locate receiver and/or any input device, or any other errors of interest. The event entry may take substantially the same form as that shown in Table 5.

It should be appreciated that the event types described above and the logged location information shown in the corresponding tables are provided primarily for purposes of illustration, and are not limiting. Thus, events of various other types and with various other information may be logged into an electronic record.

Table 14, shown below, lists another example of the contents of an electronic record of locate information that may be generated and stored and/or transmitted relating to operation of a locate receiver, according to one non-limiting embodiment. The electronic record shown in Table 14 includes a record number (record #1001), an identification of the service provider, an identification of the user (i.e., the locate technician operating the locate receiver), and an identification of the locate receiver. The mode of operation of the locate receiver (e.g., peak) may also be included. Timing information (timestamp data) from a timing system of the locate receiver and geographic information from a location tracking system of the locate receiver may also be included. The signal strength and signal frequency entries of the electronic record indicate characteristics of a signal (e.g., a magnetic field) detected by the locate receiver, for example emitted from an underground facility. The signal strength is listed in the example of Table 14 as a percentage of the maximum detectable by the locate receiver, although it should be appreciated that other units of measurement may alternatively be used. The gain entry indicates the gain setting of the locate receiver. The electronic record also includes an entry for the depth of the facility targeted, as may be determined by taking a depth measurement using a locate receiver (e.g., by calculating a difference in magnetic field strength detected by two different antennae at two different locations within a locate receiver), and for the facility type (e.g., gas, electric, etc.) and ground type in the area of the locate operation. The electronic record of Table 14 also includes the address of the locate operation and the party requesting the locate operation. Lastly, Table 14 includes information about the remaining battery life of the locate receiver for those embodiments that include a battery.

TABLE 14 Example Electronic Record For Locate Receiver Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1001 User ID 4815 Receiver ID 7362 Receiver mode Mode = Peak Timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:15 Geo-location data 2650.9348, N, 08003.5057, W Signal strength (% of 85% maximum) Gain 45 Signal frequency 1 kHz Facility depth 3.4 meters Facility type Gas (yellow) Ground type Pavement Battery strength data 85% Locate request data Requestor = XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address = 222 Main St, Orlando, FL

It should be appreciated that Table 14 represents only one non-limiting example of an electronic record of locate information which may be generated in accordance with the operation of a locate receiver, according to one embodiment. In particular, a single electronic record of locate information collected in connection with operation of a locate receiver may include multiple entries of a given data type. For example, while Table 14 illustrates an electronic record including a single GPS data point, it should be appreciated that multiple GPS data points may be taken and stored within a single electronic record. The multiple GPS data points may be taken in response to a single actuation event (e.g., single actuator pull by a technician), in response to multiple actuation events (e.g., multiple actuator pulls by a technician), or in other manners. Thus, multiple pieces of data may be collected for an electronic record of a locate operation, and it should be appreciated that any single electronic record may include multiple entries, for example as shown above with respect to Table 6.

As discussed above in connection with the marking device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a file for an electronic record of locate information may have any of a variety of formats and include any of a variety of data structures. For example, such a file may be a flat file including a succession of time stamped “locate event entries” of various locate information, for example as shown in Tables 12-14 (logged automatically as a result of one or more particular conditions, e.g., exceeded thresholds for various signals, or manually as a result of user actuation of the locate receiver), or a differently formatted file (e.g., an ASCII file, an XML file), including files having a data structure that segregates or separates in some manner the locate information into multiple different fields.

FIG. 15 illustrates a non-limiting perspective view of the locate receiver 1610, providing one example of a physical configuration of the components according to one embodiment. It should be appreciated, however, that other configurations are possible and that the various aspects described herein as relating to locate receivers are not limited to any particular configuration of components.

As shown, the locate receiver 1610 may comprise a housing 1627, to which at least some of the components of the locate receiver 1610 are mechanically coupled (e.g., affixed, housed within, etc.). As shown, the RF antenna 1624 of detection electronics 1620 may be mechanically coupled to the housing (e.g., supported inside the housing), and in this non-limiting example includes three antennae, 1625 a-1625 c. Antennae 1625 a and 1625 b may be configured to operate as peak detection antenna, while antenna 1625 c may be configured to operate as a null detection antenna. In some embodiments, the antennae 1625 a and 1625 b may be oriented substantially parallel to each other, and in some embodiments are oriented at approximately 90 degrees relative to antenna 1625 c. Again, it should be appreciated that the number, type, and orientation of the antennae of locate receiver 1610 are not limited to that shown in FIGS. 14 and 15. In addition, the control electronics 1630 may be disposed within the housing 1627, and may be coupled to the detection electronics 1620 by one or more wired or wireless connections.

As illustrated in FIG. 15, some of the components of the locate receiver 1610 may be positioned externally on the housing 1627. For example, the location tracking system 1642 (e.g., in the form of a GPS receiver) may be mounted on an electrical ground plane 1633 mechanically coupled to the housing 1627. The user interface 1638 may be located externally on the housing 1627, and, as mentioned previously, may include one or more buttons, switches, knobs, a touch screen, or other user selection items. A display 1646 may also be included on an outer surface of the housing 1627, to display information to a user.

In the non-limiting example of FIG. 15, the housing 1627 includes a handle 1611, by which a user may hold the locate receiver 1610. In some embodiments, the power source 1614 may be located within the handle, although other configurations are also possible.

As with the marking devices described above, some aspects of the invention provide a locate device (e.g., locate receiver) that may be configured (e.g., via particular instructions executing on the processor 1632) to operate in multiple different modes to collect various information relating not only to a locate operation (locate information), but additionally or alternatively various information relating to the work site/dig areas in which the locate operation is performed. For example, in one implementation, the locate receiver may be configured to operate in a first “locate mode” which essentially follows various aspects of the operation of the locate receiver 1610 described herein, and also may be configured to operate in a second “landmark identification mode,” like that described previously in connection with a marking device. When switched into the landmark mode, the locate receiver may stop detecting a magnetic field, e.g., the RF antenna of the locate receiver may be temporarily disabled in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the locate receiver may continue to operate and the landmark mode may represent additional functionality added to the locate receiver functionality.

According to those aspects of the invention providing a locate device (e.g., locate receiver) configurable to operate in both a locate mode and a landmark mode, the landmark mode may be substantially the same as the landmark mode previously described herein. For example, the landmark mode of a locate receiver may be used to collect the same types of landmark information described previously with respect to marking devices having a landmark mode, such as any of the types of information illustrated and described with respect to Tables 8-11, or any other suitable information.

The locate receiver may have any suitable components/circuitry allowing for operation in both a landmark mode and a locate receiver mode. For example, the locate receiver may include a bypass device similar to that described with respect to a marking device including landmark functionality, in which the bypass device may bypass the operation of the locate receiver functioning to detect a target object. Alternatively, a user may select the landmark mode of the locate receiver from a user interface, analogous to that previously described in the context of a marking device having landmark functionality.

Thus, it should be appreciated that the landmark functionality previously described with respect to a marking device may be suitably applied in the context of a locate receiver, according to some embodiments.

IV. COMMUNICATION BETWEEN LOCATE DEVICES AND MARKING DEVICES

Some embodiments of the present invention relate to a data acquisition system comprising a locate device communicatively coupled to a marking device. The locate device may be substantially the same as those described herein relating to other embodiments of the present invention, and the marking device may be substantially the same as those described herein relating to other embodiments of the present invention. The locate device and marking device may communicate with each other to exchange information relating to their respective uses during a locate and marking operation. In one embodiment, at least one of the locate device and marking device may be further communicatively coupled to an external device (e.g., a computing device) to receive data from and/or transmit data to the external device.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of a data acquisition system including a locate receiver 1610, a marking device 110, and optionally a remote computer 1650, according to one embodiment of the present invention. These devices may communicate with each other, via a wired or wireless link, and one or both may communicate (via a wired or wireless link) with remote computer 1650 or any other suitable external device. According to one embodiment, the locate receiver 1610 and marking device 110 may be used together during a same locate and marking operation. For example, a technician may carry both devices, using the locate receiver 1610 to locate a target object (e.g., an underground facility) and the marking device 110 to mark the location of the target object once detected. Each of locate receiver 1610 and marking device 110 may operate in substantially the same manner as previously described herein, including with respect to logging and/or transmitting information (e.g., locate information, marking information, and/or landmark information).

Communication between the locate receiver 1610 and the marking device 110 may proceed under any suitable protocol, and may include any suitable information, as the embodiments described herein relating to a locate device communicatively coupled to a marking device are not limited in this respect. According to one embodiment, one of the locate device and marking device may receive one or more event entries or one or more electronic records generated by the other device. The receiving device may then combine the received event entries/electronic records with event entries/electronic records it has generated, and store and/or transmit the combined data. Event entries and/or electronic records from different devices may be combined based on a common key (e.g., a common timestamp, a common job ID, any combination of information, such as date, time and location, or any other suitable key) or in any other manner.

As a non-limiting example, the locate receiver may generate a locate event entry of the format illustrated in Table 12. The locate event entry may be transmitted to the marking device, which itself may have generated a marking actuation event entry of the type illustrated in Table 3. The marking device may combine the locate event entry from the locate receiver with the marking actuation event entry it has generated if, for example the two records share some common “key,” i.e., means of identifying, relating and/or associating the respective event entries/records from different devices. Examples of common keys may include, but are not limited to, a common job ID, device ID's that are recognized as a working pair of “partnered” locate receivers and marking devices (discussed further below), common file names or file extensions for electronic records, a common timestamp (an exact match may not be required in all embodiments, but rather time within some suitable tolerance may suffice), a common geographic location (e.g., one or more GPS coordinates for a present location of the respective devices), and information derived from any other entry or combination of entries from the respective devices. The combined, or compiled, electronic record, may then be stored in local memory of marking device 110 and/or transmitted to remote computer 1650.

It should be appreciated that the above-described example is not limiting, and is provided primarily for purposes of illustration. For example, the respective roles of the locate receiver and marking device may be reversed in some embodiments. Alternatively, both devices may receive data from the other of the two devices, and may store and/or transmit the data.

In one embodiment, a locate receiver may be “partnered” with a particular marking device such that the locate receiver and marking device are recognized as communicatively paired for purposes of exchanging and/or sharing information. In one aspect, partnered devices may be identified by linking/associating their respective device IDs (e.g., manufacturer serial numbers, assigned IDs, etc.) in the local memory of one or both devices, and/or in an external database accessible to both devices (e.g., stored in the remote computer 150). The linking of two such devices may be based on a number of factors/conditions, examples of which include, but are not limited to, a locate receiver and a marking device being assigned/checked-out to the same technician, and/or commonly docked together/assigned to the same vehicle).

In another embodiment, a locate receiver and/or a marking device may not necessarily be configured to communicate with a particular partner (e.g., designated a priori), but rather one or both of the devices may be configured to communicate with any other locate or marking device within a given area (e.g., within 10 meters, as one non-limiting example). To this end, in one exemplary implementation, a locate receiver and/or marking device may poll for devices within some area when turned on (e.g., may broadcast messages to look for partners based on some criterion/criteria, and/or look for wireless communication signals, such as Bluetooth signals, of sufficient strength). Other scenarios are also possible, as the embodiments described herein relating to locate receivers communicatively coupled to marking devices are not limited to the manner in which the devices communicate or identify one another for communication.

The data may be transmitted between the locate receiver and marking device at any suitable times, such as periodically, upon user actuation, or in other suitable manner. Also, it should be appreciated that the locate receiver and marking device need not be used together in all embodiments. For example, the two devices may be used on different days, or at any other time relative to each other, and may exchange information at any suitable time. Thus, the various aspects described herein relating to a locate receiver communicatively coupled to a marking device are not limited in these respects.

V. COMBINED LOCATE AND MARKING DEVICE

Yet other embodiments of the present invention are directed to a combined locate and marking device (also referred to herein as a “combination locate and marking device” or “combined locate and marking apparatus”). The combined locate and marking device may function as both a locate receiver for locating objects (e.g., underground facilities) and a marking device, as discussed herein in the preceding sections.

According to one aspect of such embodiments, a combination locate and marking device is provided which is configured to collect, store, transmit to an external device and/or analyze/process any of the data types described previously herein (locate information, marking information, and/or landmark information), any combination of such data types, or any other information of relevance to the operation of the combined locate and marking device.

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate a functional block diagram and a perspective view, respectively, of a data acquisition system including a combination locate and marking device, according to one non-limiting embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, the data acquisition system 1800 comprises combination locate and marking device 1810 and (optionally) remote computer 150. It should be appreciated that many of the components illustrated in FIG. 17 have been previously shown and/or described with respect to FIGS. 2 and 14, and that a detailed description of such components is not repeated here, as they may operate in the same, or a substantially similar, manner to that previously described. It should be appreciated that the illustrated control electronics for this non-limiting embodiment of a combination locate and marking device are control electronics 112, previously described with respect to a marking device. However, the functionality of the control electronics 1630 as discussed in connection with FIG. 14 may be realized by the control electronics 112 in this non-limiting embodiment; similarly, the processor 118 in the embodiment of FIG. 17 may perform the functionality previously described with respect to both the processor 118 of FIG. 2 and the processor 1632 of FIG. 14.

The operation of the components of combination locate and marking device 1810 may be coordinated in various manners. As has been described previously herein, the detection electronics may operate to detect the presence or absence of a target object, such as an underground facility. The marking-related components (e.g., actuation system 120, marking dispenser 116, etc.) may be used in connection with dispensing a marking material, for example to mark the location of an underground facility once detected. In practice, the two activities (detecting a target object and marking a location of the target object) may not coincide temporally. Rather, a locate technician may scan an area one or more times to detect the presence of the target object, or may have to scan over a large area to determine the extent of the target object, utilizing the locate receiver functionality of the combination locate and marking device. In some embodiments, the locate technician may operate the combination locate and marking device to dispense a marking material after the target object is detected, or in some instances intermittently while detecting the target object (e.g., while following the length of an underground facility). Thus, various schemes may be employed to coordinate the object detection functionality and the marking functionality.

According to some embodiments, the object detection functionality and the marking functionality may operate at separate times. For example, in one such embodiment, the combination locate and marking device may separately operate in a detection mode and a marking mode, and a user (e.g., locate technician) may select which mode to use, for example by selecting the mode from the user interface. In such an embodiment, the user may operate the combination locate and marking device as a locate receiver until the target object is detected, and then may switch modes to a marking mode, in which the user may operate the combination locate and marking device to dispense marking material. In another such embodiment, the combination locate and marking device may operate substantially continuously as a locate receiver until the user actuates the actuation system 120, at which time the locate receiver functionality may automatically be suspended and the combination locate and marking device may shift to a marking mode for dispensing marking material. Other manners of coordinating the functionality of a combination locate and marking device are also possible, as those manners explicitly listed herein are provided primarily for purposes of illustration.

In addition, as described further below, a combination locate and marking device is further configurable to operate in a landmark mode, according to one embodiment of the present invention. In some such embodiments, the landmark mode may be a distinct mode which may selected by the user, much like the above-described selection of the object detection functionality and the marking functionality. However, other manners in which the combination device may be placed into a landmark mode of operation are also possible.

It should be appreciated from the foregoing discussion that locate information generated in connection with the object detection functionality of a combination locate and marking device may not coincide temporally with the generation of marking information associated with the marking functionality of the combination locate and marking device. The logging and/or transmission of locate and/or marking information generated by a combination locate and marking device may be coordinated in various manners, and the aspects of the invention relating to combination locate and marking devices are not limited to any particular manner of logging and/or transmitting such information. Table 15 illustrates some exemplary schemes for coordinating logging and/or transmission of information relating to both the locate and marking functionality of a combination locate and marking device. It should be appreciated that the examples of Table 15 are not exhaustive, and that other schemes are also possible.

TABLE 15 Schemes for Logging and/or Transmitting Information from Combined Locate and Marking Device Locate Information Marking Information Continuous Actuation-based Periodic Periodic Periodic Actuation-based Periodic Event-response Actuation-based Periodic Actuation-based Actuation-based Actuation-based Event-response

According to one embodiment, locate information generated in connection with the locate receiver functionality of combination locate and marking device 1810 may be logged and/or transmitted continuously. For example, object detection-related information such as the detected magnetic field strength (expressed, for example, as a percentage of the maximum detectable magnetic field strength), the magnitude of the electrical current creating the detected magnetic field, and the location of the combination locate and marking device may be logged continuously to local memory 122, for example in one or more electronic records in the local memory 122. According to one such embodiment, information relating to any marking performed with the combination locate and marking device (e.g., marking material information, position of the combination locate and marking device, duration of actuation, etc.) may be logged upon actuation of the actuation system 120.

According to another embodiment, locate information generated in connection with the locate receiver functionality of combination locate and marking device 1810 may be logged and/or transmitted periodically (e.g., at least every two seconds, every five seconds, or at any other suitable intervals). For example, the locate information may be logged in local memory 122 and/or transmitted to remote computer 150 via communication interface 124 every five seconds, every ten seconds, every thirty seconds, every minute, every five minutes, or at any other time interval. According to one such embodiment, marking information relating to any marking performed with the combination locate and marking device (e.g., marking material information, position of the combination locate and marking device, duration of actuation, etc.) may be logged upon actuation of the actuation system 120.

According to another embodiment, locate information generated in connection with the locate receiver functionality of combination locate and marking device 1810 may be logged in response to an event. The event may be the detection of an underground facility, for example as indicated by detection of a magnetic field magnitude above a threshold value, may be the detection of the absence of an underground facility, may be the taking of a depth measurement, or may be any other event of interest. As but one example, information relating to magnetic field strength, detected electrical current magnitude, geographical location of the combination locate and marking device, and timing information may be automatically logged into an electronic record in local memory 122 upon detection by RF antenna 1624 of a magnetic field magnitude exceeding a threshold value. Other events, however, may additionally or alternatively be used to trigger logging of locate information related to the locate receiver functionality.

In some such embodiments in which locate information relating to the locate receiver functionality is logged and/or transmitted in response to detection of an event of interest, marking material may be automatically dispensed in response to detection of the event and marking information about the marking functionality may be automatically logged into the local memory 122, for example in combination with the electronic record(s) relating to the locate receiver functionality or in one or more separate electronic records. In others of such embodiments in which locate information relating to the locate functionality is logged and/or transmitted in response to detection of an event of interest, marking material may be dispensed only upon actuation by a user (e.g., a locate technician), and marking information relating to the marking functionality may be logged in local memory 122 and/or transmitted to remote computer 150 via communication interface 124 upon actuation of the actuation system 120. In some embodiments, the actuation system may be disabled until the one or more types of events (e.g., detection of a magnetic field of suitable magnitude, detection of the presence of an applied signal from a transmitter, etc.) occurs, at which time the actuation system may be enabled and a user may choose whether or not to actuate the system.

In yet other embodiments, locate information relating to the locate receiver functionality of the combination locate and marking device and marking information relating to the marking functionality are both logged in local memory and/or transmitted (e.g., to a remote computer) upon actuation of the actuation system 120. In some embodiments, both types of information are logged and/or transmitted for a same actuation of the actuation system 120. In other embodiments, separate actuations are used to log and/or transmit locate information relating to the locate receiver functionality and marking information relating to the marking functionality, which in some embodiments may depend at least partially on whether the combination device is in a locate mode or a marking mode of operation.

While various schemes have been described by which information relating to both the locate receiver functionality and the marking functionality of combination locate and marking device may be logged and/or transmitted, it should be appreciated that other schemes are also possible. The various aspects described herein relating to a combination locate and marking device are not limited to any particular manner of coordinating logging and/or transmission of information relating to the operation of the device.

According to those embodiments of the invention relating to a combination locate and marking device, various events may be logged for one or more of the locate, marking, and landmark functionality (described further below). For example, events according to Tables 2-5 for the marking functionality may be logged. Events according to Tables 12-13 for the locate functionality may be generated. Other event types are also possible, as it should be appreciated that those explicitly described herein are primarily for purposes of illustration and are not limiting of the types of events that may be logged. For example, an event may be logged corresponding to a mode selection between a locate mode, a marking mode, and a landmark mode of a combination locate and marking device, in those embodiments in which such a device may be operated in the three described modes. Table 16 below provides an example of content and format for a mode select event entry that may be logged in a file for an electronic record and/or transmitted by the combination locate and marking device. The example mode select event entry shown below in Table 16 follows a similar format to that used for the event entry examples provided in Tables 2-5 and 8 above. It should be appreciated that other types of events may also or alternatively be logged, and that the examples described herein are provided primarily for purposes of illustration.

TABLE 16 Format INFO+CMBMODE: (DATE) (TIME) (WAND_ID) (JOB_ID) (MODE) <CR><LF> Examples INFO+CMBMODE: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:03:44) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) MODE (LOCATE) <CR> <LF> INFO+CMBMODE: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:10:32) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) MODE (MARKING) <CR> <LF> INFO+CMBMODE: DATE(2009-04-15) TIME(12:11:12) WAND(2334) JOB(4000) MODE (LANDMARK) <CR> <LF>

As discussed above in connection with both marking devices and locate devices, in yet another embodiment, the processor of a combination locate and marking device may be configured to generate an essentially continuous stream of data packets representing various event entries logged by the device. In particular, each data packet may include a header, one or more flag fields, and one or more information payload fields. To accommodate one or more of a locate mode, a marking mode and a landmark mode, one or more flag fields may be set or reset upon selection of the respective modes so as to identify the contents of any information payload field in the data packet as one of locate information, marking information, and landmark information. Similarly, as discussed above, one or more other flag fields may be set (or reset) upon occurrence of one or more predetermined interrupt events (e.g., pull/depress actuator, release actuator, marking dispenser in, marking dispenser out, logging of locate receiver based on signal strength or other event, low power, communication link fail, etc.). In this manner, a continuous stream of data may be provided as an output by the processor, in which certain interrupt events, such as an actuation and/or release of the actuator, “tag” certain data packets via an interrupt flag, and certain data packets also may be tagged as generated in a particular operating mode. In yet other aspects of this embodiment, all data packets thusly generated may be stored in the file opened for the electronic record and/or transmitted from the device in essentially real time; alternatively, only certain data packets with one or more predetermined flags set may be stored and/or transmitted.

Table 17 below illustrates one non-limiting example of four electronic records that may be stored in the local memory 122 of the combination locate and marking device 1810, each corresponding, for example, to a separate actuation event of actuation system 120. It should be appreciated, however, that these are merely examples, and that various alternative electronic records may be generated according to the aspects of the invention, for example reflecting different types of information associated with operation of a combination locate and marking device.

Each of the four records of Table 17 includes general information not limited to either the locate receiver functionality or marking functionality of the combination device, such as an identification of the service provider (Service provided ID), an identification of the user (User ID), an identification of the device (Device ID), and information about the requestor of the locate operation and the requested address (Locate request data). In addition, an entry describing the mode of data collection (e.g., Manual) for the device is also collected, which may indicate that information is logged into the record(s) upon actuation of the actuation system 120. Information about the actuation itself, such as the time of actuation (Timestamp data), actuation duration, and geographical location at the start, during, and/or at and end of the actuation may also be included. The electronic records also include information relating to the locate receiver functionality of the combination locate and marking device, including the receiver detection mode (i.e., PEAK in Table 17), the strength of a detected signal, the gain of the receiver, and the frequency of the detected signal. Information relating to a depth measurement (Facility depth) is also included, as is information about the marking material to be dispensed by the combination locate and marking device. Information about the remaining battery life of the device may also be included, in those embodiments in which the combination device includes a battery. Again, it should be appreciated that Table 17 is an illustration of one electronic record that may be generated in association with operation of a combination locate and marking device, and that other forms of electronic records are also possible.

TABLE 17 Electronic Record for Combination Locate and Marking Device Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1001 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Device mode Mode = MANUAL Timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:15 Actuation duration 0.5 sec Start actuation 2650.9348, N, 08003.5057, W location data End actuation location 2650.9353, N, 08003.5055, W data Locate mode Mode = PEAK Signal strength (% of 85% maximum) Gain 45 Signal frequency 1 kHz Facility depth 3.4 meters Marking material data Color = RED, Brand = ABC Battery strength data 85% Ground type Pavement Other info (text entry) “excavator on site for consult” Locate request data Requestor = XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address = 222 Main St, Orlando, FL Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1002 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Device mode Mode = MANUAL Timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:18 Actuation duration 0.4 sec Start actuation 2650.9256, N, 08003.5234, W location data End actuation location 2650.9256, N, 08003.5226, W data Locate mode Mode = PEAK Signal strength (% of 85% maximum) Gain 45 Signal frequency 1 kHz Facility depth 3.4 meters Marking material data Color = RED, Brand = ABC Battery strength data 84% Ground Type Pavement Other info (text entry) “excavator on site for consult” Locate request data Requestor = XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address = 222 Main St, Orlando, FL Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1003 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Device mode Mode = MANUAL Timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:21 Trigger pull duration 0.5 sec Start actuation 2650.9273, N, 08003.5193, W location data End actuation location 2650.9281, N, 08003.5190, W data Locate mode Mode = PEAK Signal strength (% of 85% maximum) Gain 45 Signal frequency 1 kHz Facility depth 3.4 meters Marking material data Color = RED, Brand = ABC Battery strength data 83% Ground type Pavement Other info (text entry) “excavator on site for consult” Locate request data Requestor = XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address = 222 Main St, Orlando, FL Record Service provider ID 0482 # 1004 User ID 4815 Device ID 7362 Device mode Mode = MANUAL Timestamp data 12-Jul-2008; 09:35:25 Actuation (actuation) 0.5 sec duration Start actuation 2650.9321, N, 08003.5177, W location data End actuation location 2650.9325, N, 08003.5176, W data Locate mode Mode = PEAK Signal strength (% of 85% maximum) Gain 45 Signal frequency 1 kHz Facility depth 3.4 meters Marking material data Color = RED, Brand = ABC Battery strength data 83% Ground type Pavement Other info (text entry) “excavator on site for consult” Locate request data Requestor = XYZ Construction Company, Requested service address = 222 Main St, Orlando, FL

As discussed above in connection with the marking device shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and the locate device shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, a file for an electronic record of combined locate information and marking information may have any of a variety of formats and include any of a variety of data structures. For example, such a file may be a flat file including a succession of time stamped “event entries” of various locate information (logged automatically as a result of one or more particular conditions, e.g., exceeded thresholds for various signals, or manually as a result of user actuation of the combined device), marking information (e.g., logged as a result of user actuation of the combined device), and/or landmark information, or a differently formatted file (e.g., an ASCII file, an XML file, etc.), as well as files having a data structure that segregates or separates in some manner the locate, marking, and/or landmark information into multiple different fields.

Information generated in association with the locate functionality of a combination locate and marking device may be logged and/or transmitted with information associated with the marking functionality of the device in any suitable manner. In one embodiment, information generated in association with the locate functionality may be logged and/or transmitted in separate electronic records from information generated in association with the marking functionality. The separate records may be independent in some embodiments, with no coordination between them. In an alternative embodiment, electronic records generated in association with the locate functionality may be coordinated with electronic records generated in association with the marking functionality, for example by appending one record to another, or by providing linking information, such as a pointer, identifying the separate records as being relevant to each other. In one non-limiting embodiment, a combination locate and marking device may be operated in a manner such that it is expected that locate information will be collected preceding the collection of marking information (for example, one after the other), and separate electronic files for the locate and marking operation may be grouped by grouping a locate-related file with a subsequent marking-related file.

In yet other embodiments, such as that described with respect to Table 17 above, information associated with the locate functionality may be logged and/or transmitted in a single file including information associated with the marking functionality. The information may be identified as belonging in a single record, in one non-limiting embodiment, using any common key, such as a common timestamp, a common geographic location (e.g., GPS coordinates), a common job ID, any combination of information, or any other common key. Thus, even in those embodiments in which locate information and marking information are not generated at substantially the same time (e.g., when a mode change is used to switch from locate functionality to marking functionality), the information may be coordinated and compiled using a common key.

The information logged and/or transmitted by combination locate and marking device 1810 may be used for various applications. For example, the information may be used to monitor progress and/or operation of the user, to monitor operation of the device itself, to reconstruct the user's actions at a later time and date, and/or to compare to historical information. Various examples of computer-assisted visual rendering of locate information and/or marking information are discussed below in section VI.

FIG. 18 illustrates a perspective view of a non-limiting example of a combination locate and marking device, according to one embodiment. Some of the components illustrated are also shown in FIG. 3 and have been previously described with respect to that figure. The elongated housing 1936 in FIG. 18 may be similar to elongated housing 136 of FIG. 3, with some of the illustrated components being mechanically coupled to (e.g., affixed to, disposed within, etc.) the elongated housing. The elongated housing 1936 may be formed of any rigid, semi-rigid, strong, and lightweight material, such as, but not limited to, molded plastic and aluminum, or any other suitable material(s). The actuation system 120 may be the same as that previously shown and described with respect to FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 5, or may be any other suitable actuation system.

The detection electronics 1620 are illustrated as being positioned toward the tip of the combination locate and marking device 1810. It should, however, be appreciated that the detection electronics, which as shown in FIG. 17 comprises multiple components, may be arranged in a more distributed fashion relative to the elongated housing 1936. For example, the RF antenna 1624 (which, again, may include any number of antennae) may be positioned toward the tip of combination locate and marking device 1810, while the detection circuit 1626 and processing circuit 1628 may be positioned at other locations, for example near control electronics 112, or at any other suitable location. It should also be appreciated that electrical connection between two or more of the electrical components illustrated in FIG. 18 may be made in any suitable manner, for example by wired interconnections, as appropriate.

According to one embodiment, one or more components of the detection electronics 1620, such as the RF antenna, may be electrically shielded from other components of the combination locate and marking device 1810, for example to prevent the other components from interfering with the detection of magnetic field by the RF antenna. As an example, a shield plate 1802 (e.g., made of metal or any other suitable shielding material) may be positioned suitably to shield one or more components of the detection electronics 1620, for example by positioning the shield plate between the detection electronics and the actuation mechanism 158 in FIG. 18. Other configurations are also possible, and not all embodiments of a combination locate and marking device are limited to having a shield plate for electrically shielding the detection electronics 1620.

The display 146 of the combination locate and marking device 1810 may be used to display various information of interest to a user. For example, information about a detected magnetic field strength, a detected signal frequency, a mode of operation, or a depth measurement may be displayed. Similarly, information about marking material (e.g., color, brand, amount remaining in a marking material dispenser, etc.) may also be displayed to the user. In some embodiments, the display may be a touch screen display, although other display types are also possible, as discussed above in connection with previously described embodiments.

FIGS. 19 and 20 illustrate two non-limiting illustrative methods which may employ a combination locate and marking device as described herein, such as combination locate and marking device 1810. It should be appreciated that the ordering of the acts of methods 2000 and 2100 is not limiting, as the respective acts shown may be performed in various orders.

Referring to method 2000 of FIG. 19, in act 2010 the electromagnetic field of the target facility to be located is detected by the combination locate and marking device 1810. More specifically, the detection electronics 1620 of the combination locate and marking device may detect, for example, an electromagnetic field emitted by a facility. The detection circuit 1626 may receive, amplify, and filter signals from RF antenna 1624. Further, the signals may be digitized in detection circuit 1626 and passed to processing circuit 1628, which may perform operations to calculate depth and location of the target facility based on the electromagnetic fields that are detected by RF antenna 1624. The output that is generated by processing circuit 1628 may then be displayed to the user via user interface 126 and/or stored in local memory 122.

In act 2012, an actuation event of an actuator of the combination locate and marking device is sensed. In act 2014, any information of interest associated with the combination locate and marking event is captured in response to sensing the actuation event. For example, any of the information shown in Table 17 may be captured, or any other information of interest associated with the combination locate and marking device.

In act 2016, information associated with the combined locate and marking event, including the information captured at block 2014, may be stored and/or transmitted in real time or non-real time to a remote computer and/or network.

Referring to FIG. 20, the method 2100 begins at block 2110, in which an applied signal is provided on the target facility to be located. For example, referring to FIG. 1A, locate transmitter 1505 may be coupled to a target facility and send an applied signal along the target facility. In other embodiments, the applied signal may be an alternating current (AC) signal already present on the target facility (e.g., if the target facility is a power line) or may be a signal from locate transmitter 1505 that is conductively or inductively coupled to a tracer wire along the length of a passive facility, such as a sewer or gas line.

In act 2112, the user loads the marking dispenser into the combination locate and marking device. For example, the user of combination locate and marking device 1810 loads marking dispenser 116 into marking material holder 140, as shown in FIG. 18.

In act 2114, the user activates (i.e., powers on) the combination locate and marking device by the actuation of, for example, a manual pushbutton or toggle switch of user interface 126, or in any other suitable manner. As a result, power from power source 114 is delivered to the active components of combination locate and marking device.

In act 2116, the user performs a scan with the combination locate and marking device to detect the presence and/or absence of a target facility. For example, the user may sweep the combination locate and marking device over the ground. The signal strength of any detected electromagnetic field may be presented to the user via the user interface. The user interface may include, for example, a visual display of the signal strength (e.g., display numerical readings of signal strength, display a variable length bar that corresponds to signal strength, etc.) and/or an audible tone that varies in pitch and/or amplitude with signal strength.

In act 2118, it is determined whether the target facility is located, for example based upon the strength of any electromagnetic field detected in act 2116. If the target facility is located, method 2100 proceeds to act 2120, at which the user dispenses marking material, for example by actuating an actuator of the combination locate and marking device. Conversely, if the target facility is not located, method 2100 returns to act 2116.

In act 2122, information associated with the locate operation may be stored locally and/or transmitted to an external system or device. For example, data, such as the data shown in Table 9, may be stored in local memory and/or transmitted in real time or non-real time to a remote computer and/or network via a communication link of the combination locate and marking device.

In act 2124, a determination is made whether the locate and marking operation is complete, for example based on instructions provided with the locate request. If the locate operation is complete, method 2100 ends. If the locate operation is not complete, method 2100 returns to act 2116.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a combination locate and marking device may be configurable to operate in a landmark mode, substantially the same as the landmark mode described previously herein in connection with marking devices and with locate receivers. The combination locate and marking device may include any components and circuitry suitable to allow for operation in a landmark mode, such as the bypass components, actuation locking components, and/or user interface components previously described with respect to a marking device providing landmark functionality, or any other suitable components and circuitry. Similarly, the types of information collected and the manner of operation of a combination locate and marking device exhibiting landmark functionality may be substantially the same as that previously described with respect to marking devices having landmark functionality.

VI. COMPUTER-GENERATED VISUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF LOCATE AND MARKING OPERATIONS

With reference to the marking device illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the locate device illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the data acquisition system of FIG. 16, or the combined locate and marking device illustrated in FIGS. 17 and 18, in yet another embodiment the processor associated with any of these devices (and/or one or more remote computers 150) may additionally process various locate information, marking information and/or landmark information, provided in real time from one or more of these devices and/or stored in one or more electronic records, and control a display device (e.g., display 146 or some other display device) to render a computer-generated visual representation of locate information, marking information and/or landmark information. Such a visual representation may be used, for example, to provide immediate feedback to the locate technician, provide essentially real-time feedback to a supervisor monitoring the technician from a remote location, provide a visual record of the locate information, marking information and/or landmark information (e.g., for archiving purposes, once one or more electronic records are generated), and/or to verify the quality (e.g., accuracy and completeness) of work performed during the locate and/or marking operation. It should be appreciated that in various exemplary implementations of a computer-generated visual representation according to the present invention, any one or combination of locate information, marking information and landmark information may be visually rendered in a display field.

In various aspects of this embodiment, a visual representation may be static in that all available information is presented in a display field at one time after collection of the information (e.g., completion of the locate and/or marking operation and generation of an electronic record); alternatively, the visual representation may be dynamic in that information representing successive actuations of a locate device, a marking device or a combined locate and marking device, or automatic logging of data in a locate device, is displayed in essentially real-time as it is collected, or may be displayed after collection (e.g., generation of an electronic record) in a time-sequenced animation that “recreates” the collection of information (e.g., recreates the locate and/or marking operation) on the time scale in which it was originally acquired.

In other aspects, the relative positions of GPS-identified events/objects noted in an electronic record including one or more of locate information, marking information and landmark information may be displayed (e.g., based on geo-location data and some appropriate scale of an available display field of display 146) to provide a visual representation. A visual representation may also be rendered in one or more particular colors corresponding to one or more particular underground facilities located and/or marked (e.g., see Table 7).

In one exemplary implementation relating to marking operations, such a visual representation may include one “electronic locate mark” displayed in a display field for each actuation/dispensing action of a marking device or combined locate and marking device, such that there is essentially a one-to-one correspondence between electronic locate marks and physical locate marks for a given underground facility marked during a marking operation. Alternatively, in another exemplary implementation of such a visual representation for a marking operation, an essentially continuous solid line (or other line type) may be displayed in a display field to represent a given underground facility marked during a marking operation.

In another aspect of data processing for computer-aided visual rendering, the processor may process the geo-location data in electronic records from a locate device, a marking device and/or a combined locate and marking device so as to filter, average, interpolate and/or otherwise “smooth” data (e.g., so as to provide “cleaner” visual renderings and/or connect successive locate marks represented by respective actuation data sets of an electronic record); alternatively, “raw data” provided by a given device may be utilized for the visual representation. In yet another aspect of this embodiment, visual representations of multiple locate and/or marking operations for different underground facilities within the same work site/dig area may be generated in the same display field of a display device so as to provide a composite visual representation, in which different underground facilities may be uniquely identified in some manner (e.g., by different line types and/or different colors), and one or more environmental landmarks in and/or around the work site/dig area may be identified using a variety of displayed identifiers (e.g., icons, symbols, marks, shapes, etc.).

In the following discussion, a process for generating a visual representation in a display field based on information in an electronic record is described for illustrative purposes based on marking information and/or landmark information contained in an electronic record (as acquired using a marking device or a combined locate and marking device). However, it should be appreciated that the general concepts outlined below in connection with visual renderings may be applied similarly to locate information contained in one or more electronic records generated by a locate device or a combined locate and marking device, as well as landmark information contained in one or more electronic records generated by a locate device.

FIG. 21 illustrates a flow chart for a process 800 according to one embodiment of the present invention for generating a visual representation of a marking operation based on an electronic record and/or essentially real-time information transmission from the marking device 110. As noted above, the process 800 may result from the execution of various embodiments of the marking data algorithm 134 on the processor 118 of the marking device 110 or the combined locate and marking device 1810 (to render the visual representation on the display 146), or by one or more other remote computers (to render the visual representation on one or more other display devices).

In block 802 of the process 800, if an electronic record has already been generated for the marking operation in which one or more underground facilities are marked and/or environmental landmark information is acquired, the record is examined to determine the geographic extents of the locate marks and/or environmental landmarks to be visually rendered on a display device. In particular, the processor 118 may review the geo-location data of all actuation data sets of the electronic record to determine (e.g., based on the respective latitude and longitude coordinates of the available geo-location data) the maximum extents of the marking operation to be visually rendered.

The maximum extents of the marking operation may be determined in any of a variety of manners according to different exemplary implementations. For example, in one exemplary implementation, in block 802 the processor 118 may determine the centroid of all electronic locate marks and/or environmental landmarks represented by respective actuation data sets of the electronic record to be displayed. The processor then determines the geographic extent of the collection of electronic locate marks and/or environmental landmarks by determining one or more latitude/longitude coordinate pairs from the available data having a greatest distance from the centroid. In one example, the processor may determine a single farthest point from the centroid, and a distance between this farthest point and the centroid serves as a radius of a circle that provides an “extents area circle.” In another example, the “farthest opposing corners” of a rectangle around the centroid may be determined by assigning the centroid as the origin of a reference coordinate system, and finding the coordinate pairs in opposing quadrants of the coordinate system having a greatest distance from the centroid (e.g., the +LAT/+LONG and −LAT/−LONG coordinate pairs at a greatest distance from the origin) to provide an “extents area rectangle.” Other types of polygons and closed shapes (ovals) may be employed to provide an extents area for the marking operation to be displayed.

Alternatively, if an electronic record has not been previously generated and information received in essentially real-time from the marking device or the combined locate and marking device is to be displayed in a display field, a default extents area may be selected in advance based on any of a variety of criteria. For example, address and/or site description information provided in a ticket pursuant to which the marking operation is performed may provide a basis on which an extents area for the marking operation may be estimated a priori. Similarly, as discussed further below in connection with FIG. 24, an available digital image of the work site/dig area may be employed to determine or estimate an initial extents area for the marking operation.

In block 804, the extents area of the marking operation to be visually rendered is then mapped to an available display field of a display device, using any appropriate scaling factor as necessary, to ensure that all of the geo-location data in the electronic record fits within the display field. For example, in one exemplary implementation, a transformation may be derived using information relating to the available display field (e.g., a reference coordinate system using an appropriate scale for a given display field of a display device) to map data points within the extents area to the available display field. In another aspect of this example, a buffer area around the extents area may be added to provide one or more suitable margins for the displayed visual representation, and/or to accommodate different shapes of extents areas to the available display field of the display device, and an appropriate transformation may be derived based on this optional additional buffer area.

Once a transformation is derived to map the marking operation extents area to the available display field of a display device, in block 806 one or more electronic locate marks and/or one or more identifiers (e.g., icons, symbols, marks, shapes, etc.) is/are rendered in the display field based on applying the transformation to the geo-location data present in the data set of one or more corresponding actuation data sets of the electronic record. In one exemplary implementation, one electronic locate mark is rendered in the display field for each actuation data set of an electronic record. With reference again to Table 6 and FIG. 10, in one embodiment each actuation data set includes at least T1 geo-location data for a start of an actuation of a marking device and one or more other pieces of geo-location data during actuation. Using multiple pieces of geo-location data per actuation data set, an electronic locate mark may be rendered as a line in the display field (e.g., so as to visually represent one of the physical locate marks 414-1, 414-2 or 414-3 shown in FIG. 8). In another exemplary implementation, an electronic locate mark may be rendered for each geo-location data in a given entry, such that multiple electronic locate marks correspond to one actuation (e.g., a series of dots electronically rendered to graphically represent a line-type physical locate mark). In one aspect, as discussed above, a given electronic locate mark may be rendered in a particular color and/or line type to represent a type of underground facility represented by the mark (e.g., as indicated by marking material information included in the electronic record).

FIG. 22 illustrates a plan view of an exemplary composite visual representation 900 that “electronically recreates” a marking operation for various underground facilities and environmental landmarks present in a work site/dig area, based for example on the process 800 discussed above. In particular, FIG. 22 illustrates a number of electronic locate marks corresponding to actuations of a marking device whose relative positions in the display field are derived from actuation data sets of the electronic record, as discussed above. In the example of FIG. 22, act-1 through act-7 form a lines pattern 910 representing a first marked underground facility, act-8 through act-14 form a lines pattern 912 representing a second marked underground facility, act-15 through act-24 form a lines pattern 914 representing a third marked underground facility, and act-26 through act-34 form a lines pattern 916 representing a fourth marked underground facility. FIG. 22 also includes identifiers for various environmental landmarks disposed in proximity to the electronic locate marks; in particular, a building 950 is shown in the top portion of FIG. 22, whereas two utility poles 952 and 954, as well as a fire hydrant 956, are shown in the bottom portion of FIG. 22.

As noted above, while in one embodiment there may be a one-to-one correspondence between electronic locate marks rendered in a single or composite visual representation and physical locate marks placed in a dig area during a marking operation, or there may be multiple electronic locate marks for a corresponding physical locate mark, in yet other embodiments a single or composite visual representation may provide a variety of other indicators/digital representations of marked underground facilities in a computer-generated visual rendering. For example, FIG. 23 illustrates another example of a composite visual representation 1000 based on the same electronic record used to generate the composite visual representation 900 of FIG. 22, in which continuous lines are used to indicate the respective marking operations. To this end, in one exemplary implementation, an additional step may be included in the process 800 shown in FIG. 21, in which the processor may process the marking geo-location data in an electronic record by filtering, averaging, interpolating and/or otherwise “smoothing” the data so as to connect successive discrete locate marks represented by the respective actuation data sets of the electronic record and thereby provide a substantially smooth continuous line for display.

Similarly, filtering, averaging, interpolating, processing and/or otherwise smoothing of data may be applied to landmark information captured in landmark event entries. For example, multiple event entries logged for a particular environmental landmark (e.g., the four corners of a pedestal) may be processed so as to provide a single point in a display field at which to display a symbol, icon or other identifier for an environmental landmark. Such processing may include, for example, selecting any one of multiple geo-location coordinates captured in multiple event entries as representative of the landmark location, calculating a centroid of all points represented by captured coordinates, “pre-filtering” a collection of coordinates to eliminate significant “outliers” and subsequently determining a centroid of the remaining coordinates, etc.

In the example of FIG. 23, as also noted above, different underground facility types may be indicated in different color lines, and the different colors/facility types may be derived from the electronic record (e.g., based on the correlations provided in Table 7). Furthermore, in other aspects, text indicators may be included in the visual representation, and/or other types of coding may be used (different line styles such as patterns, width, bold, etc.; a succession of symbols or other graphic icons, etc.) to indicate different facility types, and/or some other aspect of a given facility (e.g., the material used for a particular pipe, conduit, cable, sheathing; the diameter of a particular pipe, conduit, cable; offsets to one or more environmental landmarks, etc.). By way of example, FIG. 23 indicates that the four underground facilities in the composite visual representation correspond to a power line 1010 (which may be rendered in the color red), a first sewer line 1012 (which may be rendered in the color green), a second sewer line 1014 (which also may be rendered in the color green), and a telecommunications line 1016 (which may be rendered in the color orange). An exemplary composite visual representation may include additional textual, numeric and/or graphic elements to provide other information available in the electronic record for the marking operations (e.g., timestamp information, ID information, coordinates for location information, offset indications, etc.). For example, in FIG. 23 an offset 958 of 3 feet is indicated between the fire hydrant 956 and the sewer line 1014.

In some marking operations, a technician may use the marking device not only to mark an underground facility's placement/path relative to the ground, pavement or other surface, but also to “annotate” the marking operation in some fashion. For example, in some instances a technician actually “writes” with the marking device (e.g., by actuating the marking device to dispense paint) to provide text annotations, offset indications, arrows, other symbols, and the like on the ground, pavement or other surface. Accordingly, the electronic record for a marking operation may include one or more actuation data sets corresponding to actuations in which the technician was “writing” to annotate the marking operation in some fashion rather than marking the path of an underground facilities. In some cases, providing such technician annotations on a visual representation of a marking operation may be desirable; however, in other instances such annotations may provide erratic markings on a visual representation, in which case additional processing of geo-location data or other information in the electronic record (e.g., filtering, averaging, interpolating and/or otherwise “smoothing” the data) may be employed.

In yet another embodiment, a single or composite visual representation of a marking operation, including one or both of marking information and landmark information, may rendered on a display device together with a digital image representative of at least a portion of a dig area at a work site, such that one or more electronic locate marks and/or one or more identifiers for environmental landmarks appear in appropriate relative positions overlaid on the displayed digital image. FIG. 24 illustrates yet another example of a composite visual representation 1100, albeit based on an electronic record different than that used to generate the visual representations of FIGS. 18 and 19, in which continuous lines are used to indicate the respective different underground facilities marked, and these lines are overlaid on a digital image of a dig area, together with identifiers for environmental landmarks. It should be appreciated that although continuous lines representing underground facilities are depicted on a digital image in FIG. 24, in other embodiments discrete electronic locate marks corresponding to successive actuations of a marking device (or multiple discrete electronic locate marks per actuation) may be overlaid on a digital image of the dig area.

In the embodiment of FIG. 24, a number of different image sources and image types may be employed to provide the digital image on which a visual representation of a marking operation may be overlaid. For purposes of the present disclosure, such a digital image (also referred to herein as an “input image”) may be any image represented by source data that is electronically processed (e.g., the source data is in a computer-readable format) to display the image on a display device. An input image may include any of a variety of paper/tangible image sources that are scanned (e.g., via an electronic scanner) or otherwise converted so as to create source data (e.g., in various formats such as XML, PDF, JPG, BMP, etc.) that can be processed to display the input image. An input image also may include an image that originates as source data or an electronic file without necessarily having a corresponding paper/tangible copy of the image (e.g., an image of a “real-world” scene acquired by a digital still frame or video camera or other image acquisition device, in which the source data, at least in part, represents pixel information from the image acquisition device).

In some exemplary implementations, input images according to the present disclosure may be created, provided, and/or processed by a geographic information system (GIS) that captures, stores, analyzes, manages and presents data referring to (or linked to) location, such that the source data representing the input image includes pixel information from an image acquisition device (corresponding to an acquired “real world” scene or representation thereof), and/or spatial/geographic information (“geo-encoded information”).

In view of the foregoing, various examples of input images and source data representing input images according to the present disclosure, to which the inventive concepts disclosed herein may be applied, include but are not limited to:

-   -   Manual “free-hand” paper sketches of the geographic area (which         may include one or more buildings, natural or man-made         landmarks, property boundaries, streets/intersections, public         works or facilities such as street lighting, signage, fire         hydrants, mail boxes, parking meters, etc.);     -   Various maps indicating surface features and/or extents of         geographical areas, such as street/road maps, topographical         maps, military maps, parcel maps, tax maps, town and county         planning maps, call-center and/or facility polygon maps, virtual         maps, etc. (such maps may or may not include geo-encoded         information);     -   Facility maps illustrating installed underground facilities,         such as gas, power, telephone, cable, fiber optics, water,         sewer, drainage, etc. Facility maps may also indicate         street-level features (streets, buildings, public facilities,         etc.) in relation to the depicted underground facilities.         Examples of facility maps include CAD drawings that may be         created and viewed with a GIS to include geo-encoded information         (e.g., metadata) that provides location information (e.g.,         infrastructure vectors) for represented items on the facility         map;     -   Architectural, construction and/or engineering drawings and         virtual renditions of a space/geographic area (including “as         built” or post-construction drawings);     -   Land surveys, i.e., plots produced at ground level using         references to known points such as the center line of a street         to plot the metes and bounds and related location data regarding         a building, parcel, utility, roadway, or other object or         installation;     -   A grid (a pattern of horizontal and vertical lines used as a         reference) to provide representational geographic information         (which may be used “as is” for an input image or as an overlay         for an acquired “real world” scene, drawing, map, etc.);     -   “Bare” data representing geo-encoded information (geographical         data points) and not necessarily derived from an         acquired/captured real-world scene (e.g., not pixel information         from a digital camera or other digital image acquisition         device). Such “bare” data may be nonetheless used to construct a         displayed input image, and may be in any of a variety of         computer-readable formats, including XML);     -   Photographic renderings/images, including street level,         topographical, satellite, and aerial photographic         renderings/images, any of which may be updated periodically to         capture changes in a given geographic area over time (e.g.,         seasonal changes such as foliage density, which may variably         impact the ability to see some aspects of the image); and     -   An image, such as any of the above image types, that includes         one or more dig area indicators, or “virtual white lines,” that         provide one or more indications of or graphically delimit a dig         area, as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.         12/366,853, incorporated by reference herein. The virtual white         lines may include lines, drawing shapes, shades, symbols,         coordinates, data sets, or other indicators that are added to an         image, and may assist a locate technician in the performance of         a locate operation by identifying the area of interest, i.e.,         the dig area. In this manner, a searchable electronic record         according to the concepts disclosed herein may be generated         based on a previously marked-up input image on which the dig         area is indicated.

It should also be appreciated that source data representing an input image may be compiled from multiple data/information sources; for example, any two or more of the examples provided above for input images and source data representing input images, or any two or more other data sources, can provide information that can be combined or integrated to form source data that is electronically processed to display an image on a display device.

As noted above, in some implementations an input image may be indexed to Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates or another coordinate system that provides geo-spatial positioning. An input image may include geo-coding or other geographical identification metadata and may be provided in any computer-readable format. An input image may also include images of map symbols, such as roads and street names, that may be superimposed upon or displayed separately from an underlying geographic area when the input image is displayed on a display device.

Based on the foregoing, a digital image may be displayed in an available display field of a display device either before or after electronic locate marks and/or identifiers for environmental landmarks are displayed in the available display field. For example, in one implementation, after the block 806 in FIG. 21, all or a portion of the digital image may be mapped to the available display field based on any relevant geographic information accompanying the digital image (e.g., GPS coordinates to which the image is indexed). Alternatively, the digital image may be mapped first to the available display field of the display device depending on appropriate scaling and/or transformation parameters as would be readily appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art, and thereafter one or more electronic locate marks and/or one or more identifiers for environmental landmarks similarly may be mapped to the available display field in appropriate positions relative to the underlying digital image. In the example of FIG. 24, a first visual representation of a gas line 1130 is depicted, a second visual representation of a communication line 1120 is depicted, and a third visual representation of an electric line 1110 is depicted on an aerial image of a residential dig area for purposes of illustration. As discussed above in connection with other embodiments, these visual representations may be displayed in different colors and/or line types to denote different types of underground facilities and/or various attributes of a given facility. As also illustrated in FIG. 24, other types of markings may be included as part of the displayed image, including environmental landmarks such as junction boxes or transformers 1140, streets, property boundaries, tie-downs (reference lines between marked facilities and environmental landmarks and/or property boundaries) and their associated dimensions, and one or more text boxes 2173 (e.g., to indicate an address of the work site over the residence), and the like.

As noted earlier, it should be appreciated that the general concepts outlined above in connection with visual renderings may be applied similarly to locate information contained in event entries and/or one or more electronic records generated by a locate device or a combined locate and marking device. For example, in addition to, or alternatively to, one or both of marking information and landmark information, an electronic representation of locate information (e.g., geo-location data relating to detection of one or more underground facilities) may be visually rendered in a display field, including overlaying such an electronic representation on a digital (input) image. In this manner, a comprehensive visual representation of activity relating to a locate and marking operation may be generated. In various exemplary implementations, locate information may be filtered, interpolated, smoothed or otherwise processed, as discussed above in connection with marking information and landmark information. Additionally, locate information and marking information, if displayed together, may be differentiated in a display field in any of a variety of manners (e.g., different line types, symbols or patterns; different colors or shades of related colors; artificially offset from each other in the display field if marking information and locate information overlap or are sufficiently close to each other in some instances, etc.) to allow for visual perception of both locate information and marking information.

To this end, in one embodiment, each of locate information, marking information and landmark information, if present in a computer-aided visual rendering, as well as any constituent information forming part of the locate information, marking information and landmark information, may be displayed as separate “layers” of the visual rendering, such that a viewer of the visual rendering may turn on and turn off displayed information based on a categorization of the displayed information. For example, all locate information may be categorized generally under one layer designation (“locate layer”), and independently enabled or disabled for display (e.g., hidden) accordingly. Similarly, all marking information may be categorized generally under another layer designation (“marking layer”) and independently enabled or disabled for display accordingly, and all landmark information may be categorized generally under yet another layer designation (“landmark layer”) and independently enabled or disabled for display accordingly. Respective layers may be enabled or disabled for display in any of a variety of manners; for example, in one implementation, a “layer directory” or “layer legend” pane may be included in the display field (or as a separate window selectable from the display field of the visual rendering), showing all available layers, and allowing a viewer to select each available layer to be either displayed or hidden, thus facilitating comparative viewing of layers.

Furthermore, any of the above-mentioned general categories for layers may have sub-categories for sub-layers, such that each sub-layer may also be selectively enabled or disabled for viewing by a viewer. For example, under the general layer designation of “marking layer,” different facility types that may have been marked during a marking operation (and indicated in the marking information by color, for example) may be categorized under different sub-layer designations (e.g., “marking layer—electric;” “marking layer—gas;” etc.); in this manner, a viewer may be able to hide only the electric marking information while viewing the gas marking information, or vice versa, in addition to having the option to view or hide all marking information. Sub-layer designations similarly may be employed for the locate information and the landmark information (e.g., “landmark layer—water/sewer;” “landmark layer—CATV”). Virtually any characteristic of the information available for display may serve to categorize the information for purposes of display layers or sub-layers; for example, a locate sub-layer designation of “locate layer—battery low” may be employed to specifically enable or disable for display any data points in the locate information that were collected when locate status information indicated a low battery condition (and, as a result, possibly suspect data).

Various examples of visual representations such as those illustrated in FIGS. 22-24 may be used for various purposes, including, but not limited to:

-   -   (1) The display may be viewed by the technician for         substantially immediate feedback of his/her work performed,         which can be compared against the ticket information to ensure         that the full scope of the current locate and marking operation         has been completed satisfactorily.     -   (2) The display may be viewed by a supervisor (using remote         computer 150 that is receiving the data) as substantially         immediate feedback of work performed by the technician, which         again can be compared against the ticket information to ensure         that the full scope of the current locate and marking operation         has been completed satisfactorily. When the supervisor is         viewing the locate and marking operation in real time, he/she         may contact the technician in real time in the event that the         work is unsatisfactory;     -   (3) The display may be viewed by a quality control supervisor         (using remote computer 150 that has received the data) as         feedback of work performed by the technician, which again can be         compared against the ticket information to ensure that the full         scope of the current locate and marking operation has been         completed satisfactorily. By viewing the operation, the quality         control supervisor may dispatch a quality control technician or         other personnel in the event that there is the operation is         unsatisfactory, and     -   (4) The display may be viewed by a training supervisor as         feedback of work performed by the technician, which can be used         to assess employee performance and direct training activities.

VII. CONCLUSION

Regarding the marking devices, locate devices and combined locate and marking devices according to various embodiments of the invention described herein, the data (e.g., locate information and marking information) that may be acquired and analyzed is not limited to that described with reference to the various figures and tables herein, and may be used for any purpose. The data of interest that may be acquired and analyzed may include, but is not limited to, various timestamp data, geo-location information, direction information, any information included in the standard data stream of the locate tracking system (e.g., GPS system), color/type of marking material, amount of marking material in a marking dispenser, serial number of marking dispenser (e.g., barcode, RFID), ID information (e.g., individual, vehicle, wage and/or hour compliance), battery status of the device, angle of spray of marking material (e.g., using an inclinometer), wired/wireless connection status, Bluetooth® signal strength, storage capacity of the local memory, temperature, humidity, light level, movement of the device, mode of operation of the device, docking state of the device (e.g., docked/undocked, charging/not charging), alerts against expectations in performance (e.g., compare amount and/or type of marking material sprayed against facility maps), and any combination thereof.

The information, such as shown in various tables herein, that may be acquired by use of the data acquisition systems, apparatus and methods described herein, may be used for any purpose. In an embodiment, the information of the data acquisition system may be analyzed against expected locate and marking operations in order to gain benefits in, for example, operating efficiency, personnel management, inventory management, quality control, training operations, safety, customer satisfaction, and the like.

Additionally, the information that is acquired by use of the data acquisition systems, apparatus, and methods of the present disclosure may be correlated to other aspects of locate and marking operations. This correlation may occur, for example, by performing complex event processing (CEP) using multiple data streams from multiple devices. For example, one or more data streams (e.g., respective event entries or one or more electronic records) transmitted by a locate device, a marking device, or a combined locate and marking device may be correlated to information obtained from one or more other devices in order to aggregate, assess, evaluate, draw insights from, take action on this information, and any combination thereof. Correlating disparate data streams may be useful in order to better interpret and/or gain new interpretations that are useful. For example, by analyzing the aggregated data, field service providers may gain visibility into the distributed workforce, may take corrective and/or any other constructive action to improve process management, may improve and/or develop best practices, and any combination thereof. In an embodiment, certain trends may be identified by correlating historical records of the amount of time that is spent performing locate and marking operations to other information, such as, but not limited to, the time of day, time of year, address of the locate site, experience of the locate technician, weather conditions, heavy or light traffic times, and the like.

While various inventive embodiments have been described and illustrated herein, those of ordinary skill in the art will readily envision a variety of other means and/or structures for performing the function and/or obtaining the results and/or one or more of the advantages described herein, and each of such variations and/or modifications is deemed to be within the scope of the inventive embodiments described herein. More generally, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that all parameters, dimensions, materials, and configurations described herein are meant to be exemplary and that the actual parameters, dimensions, materials, and/or configurations will depend upon the specific application or applications for which the inventive teachings is/are used. Those skilled in the art will recognize, or be able to ascertain using no more than routine experimentation, many equivalents to the specific inventive embodiments described herein. It is, therefore, to be understood that the foregoing embodiments are presented by way of example only and that, within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereto, inventive embodiments may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described and claimed. Inventive embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to each individual feature, system, article, material, kit, and/or method described herein. In addition, any combination of two or more such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods, if such features, systems, articles, materials, kits, and/or methods are not mutually inconsistent, is included within the inventive scope of the present disclosure.

The above-described embodiments can be implemented in any of numerous ways. For example, the embodiments may be implemented using hardware, software or a combination thereof. When implemented in software, the software code can be executed on any suitable processor or collection of processors, whether provided in a single computer or distributed among multiple computers.

The various methods or processes outlined herein may be coded as software that is executable on one or more processors that employ any one of a variety of operating systems or platforms. Additionally, such software may be written using any of a number of suitable programming languages and/or programming or scripting tools, and also may be compiled as executable machine language code or intermediate code that is executed on a framework or virtual machine.

In this respect, various inventive concepts may be embodied as a computer readable storage medium (or multiple computer readable storage media) (e.g., a computer memory, one or more floppy discs, compact discs, optical discs, magnetic tapes, flash memories, circuit configurations in Field Programmable Gate Arrays or other semiconductor devices, or other tangible computer storage medium) encoded with one or more programs that, when executed on one or more computers or other processors, perform methods that implement the various embodiments of the invention discussed above. The computer readable medium or media can be transportable, such that the program or programs stored thereon can be loaded onto one or more different computers or other processors to implement various aspects of the present invention as discussed above.

The terms “program” or “software” are used herein in a generic sense to refer to any type of computer code or set of computer-executable instructions that can be employed to program a computer or other processor to implement various aspects of embodiments as discussed above. Additionally, it should be appreciated that according to one aspect, one or more computer programs that when executed perform methods of the present invention need not reside on a single computer or processor, but may be distributed in a modular fashion amongst a number of different computers or processors to implement various aspects of the present invention.

Computer-executable instructions may be in many forms, such as program modules, executed by one or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. Typically the functionality of the program modules may be combined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Also, data structures may be stored in computer-readable media in any suitable form. For simplicity of illustration, data structures may be shown to have fields that are related through location in the data structure. Such relationships may likewise be achieved by assigning storage for the fields with locations in a computer-readable medium that conveys relationship between the fields. However, any suitable mechanism may be used to establish a relationship between information in fields of a data structure, including through the use of pointers, tags or other mechanisms that establish relationship between data elements.

Also, various inventive concepts may be embodied as one or more methods, of which an example has been provided. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Accordingly, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

All definitions, as defined and used herein, should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The indefinite articles “a” and “an”, as used herein in the specification and in the claims, unless clearly indicated to the contrary, should be understood to mean “at least one.”

The phrase “and/or,” as used herein in the specification and in the claims, should be understood to mean “either or both” of the elements so conjoined, i.e., elements that are conjunctively present in some cases and disjunctively present in other cases. Multiple elements listed with “and/or” should be construed in the same fashion, i.e., “one or more” of the elements so conjoined. Other elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified by the “and/or” clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, a reference to “A and/or B”, when used in conjunction with open-ended language such as “comprising” can refer, in one embodiment, to A only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to both A and B (optionally including other elements); etc.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, “or” should be understood to have the same meaning as “and/or” as defined above. For example, when separating items in a list, “or” or “and/or” shall be interpreted as being inclusive, i.e., the inclusion of at least one, but also including more than one, of a number or list of elements, and, optionally, additional unlisted items. Only terms clearly indicated to the contrary, such as “only one of” or “exactly one of,” or, when used in the claims, “consisting of,” will refer to the inclusion of exactly one element of a number or list of elements. In general, the term “or” as used herein shall only be interpreted as indicating exclusive alternatives (i.e. “one or the other but not both”) when preceded by terms of exclusivity, such as “either,” “one of,” “only one of,” or “exactly one of.” “Consisting essentially of,” when used in the claims, shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the field of patent law.

As used herein in the specification and in the claims, the phrase “at least one,” in reference to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including at least one of each and every element specifically listed within the list of elements and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. This definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase “at least one” refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, “at least one of A and B” (or, equivalently, “at least one of A or B,” or, equivalently “at least one of A and/or B”) can refer, in one embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, with no B present (and optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, B, with no A present (and optionally including elements other than A); in yet another embodiment, to at least one, optionally including more than one, A, and at least one, optionally including more than one, B (and optionally including other elements); etc.

In the claims, as well as in the specification above, all transitional phrases such as “comprising,” “including,” “carrying,” “having,” “containing,” “involving,” “holding,” “composed of,” and the like are to be understood to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. Only the transitional phrases “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of” shall be closed or semi-closed transitional phrases, respectively, as set forth in the United States Patent Office Manual of Patent Examining Procedures, Section 2111.03. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for performing a locate operation to detect a presence or absence of at least one underground facility at a work site of a proposed excavation, in response to a locate ticket providing an instruction to perform the locate operation and identifying the work site of the proposed excavation at which the locate operation is performed, the apparatus comprising: an actuator; at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility and provide first locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna during the locate operation; at least one input device to receive at least second locate information, the second locate information comprising ticket information relating to the locate ticket, wherein the ticket information comprises location information for the work site and facility information relating to the at least one underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions and an electronic record of the locate operation; and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one input device, and the at least one receiver antenna, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the electronic record of the locate operation stored in the memory the first locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna during the locate operation, and the second locate information, wherein the processor is configured to log at least the first locate information in the memory in response to at least one of: (i) actuation of the actuator; and (ii) at least one event based at least partially on a characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna during the locate operation and, wherein: the at least one input device includes at least one communications interface to provide external information including the ticket information; and at least some of the second locate information logged into the memory includes the external information provided by the at least one communications interface.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to log at least the first locate information into the memory in response to both actuation of the actuator and the at least one event.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to log at least the first locate information into memory in response to actuation of the actuator.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to log at least the first locate information into memory in response to the at least one event.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one event comprises multiple events forming a pattern relating to the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna, and wherein the processor is configured to log at least the first locate information into the memory in response to the pattern.
 6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the at least one event represents a deviation from a pattern relating to the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.
 7. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna is a magnitude of the magnetic field, and wherein the at least one event is based at least partially on the magnitude of the magnetic field detected.
 8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna is a frequency of the magnetic field, and wherein the at least one event is based at least partially on the frequency of the magnetic field detected.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a communication interface coupled to the processor, wherein the processor controls the communication interface so as to transmit the electronic record of the locate operation to an external computing device.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first locate information comprises a magnitude of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is operable in a peak detection operating mode, wherein the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna is a magnitude of the magnetic field, and wherein the at least one event is indicated by the magnitude of the magnetic field assuming a value exceeding a threshold value.
 12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the apparatus is operable in a null detection operating mode, wherein the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna is a magnitude of the magnetic field, and wherein the at least one event is indicated by the magnitude of the magnetic field assuming a value below a threshold value.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first locate information comprises a frequency of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first locate information comprises a depth of the at least one underground facility as determined at least partially based on the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the at least one input device includes a location tracking system to provide geographic information; and the at least some of the second locate information logged into the memory includes the geographic information provided by the location tracking system.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein: the geographic information provided by the location tracking system includes at least one longitude coordinate, at least one latitude coordinate, and a corresponding geo-location data time stamp at which the at least one longitude coordinate and the at least one latitude coordinate are obtained by the location tracking system.
 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the at least one input device includes a timing system to provide timing information; and the at least some of the second locate information logged into the memory includes the timing information provided by the timing system.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least some of the second locate information logged into the memory further includes service-related information.
 19. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: the at least one input device includes at least one user interface to provide user-entered information; and the at least some of the second locate information logged into the memory further includes the user-entered information provided by the at least one user interface.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one user interface includes a display to facilitate entry of the user-entered information via a menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI).
 21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the at least one user interface includes a mode selector to facilitate selection of at least a locate mode and a landmark mode as an operating mode for the apparatus, and wherein at least some of the user-entered information includes mode selection information indicating the selected operating mode.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein when the apparatus is in the landmark mode, the processor logs in the memory landmark information relating to one or more environmental landmarks.
 23. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first locate information logged into the electronic record and relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna during the locate operation further comprises at least one of: a magnitude of the detected magnetic field; a frequency of the detected magnetic field; an electric current associated with the detected magnetic field; a depth of the at least one underground facility; a gain associated with the at least one receiver antenna; and a selected operating mode for the apparatus, wherein the selected operating mode includes one of a peak detection mode and a null detection mode.
 24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the ticket information further comprises at least one of: a ticket number; ground type information; excavator information; and historical ticket information.
 25. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to log, in the electronic record of the locate operation, third locate information comprising service-related information including at least one of: one or more identifiers for a locate technician performing the locate operation; a locate contractor dispatching the locate technician; and a party requesting the locate operation.
 26. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to log, in the electronic record of the locate operation, fourth locate information comprising apparatus-related information including at least one of: a serial number for the apparatus; a make or model number for the apparatus; and a battery level of the apparatus.
 27. A locate device for logging locate information relating to a locate operation for at least one underground facility, the locate operation performed at a work site of a proposed excavation in response to a locate ticket identifying the work site of the proposed excavation, the locate device comprising: an actuator; at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility, wherein the locate information includes magnetic field information based on the detected magnetic field during the locate operation; at least one first input device to provide geographic information regarding the locate operation, wherein the locate information further includes the geographic information, and wherein the at least one first input device includes a location tracking system to provide at least some of the geographic information; at least one second input device to provide ticket information relating to the locate ticket, wherein the ticket information comprises location information for the work site and facility information relating to the at least one underground facility, and wherein the locate information further includes the ticket information; a memory to store processor-executable instructions and an electronic record of the locate operation; a mode selector to facilitate selection of at least a locate mode and a landmark mode as an operating mode for the apparatus; and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one first input device, the at least one second input device, the at least one receiver antenna, and the actuator, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, and in response to actuation of the actuator, the processor logs in the electronic record of the locate operation stored in the memory at least some of the locate information including the magnetic field information and the geographic information.
 28. The locate device of claim 27, wherein when the apparatus is in the landmark mode, the processor logs in the memory landmark information relating to one or more environmental landmarks.
 29. The locate device of claim 27, wherein the mode selector device includes at least one user interface having a display to facilitate selection of the locate mode and the landmark mode via a menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI).
 30. The locate device of claim 27, wherein the ticket information further comprises at least one of: a ticket number; ground type information; excavator information; and historical ticket information.
 31. The locate device of claim 27, further comprising an elongated housing having a proximal end including a handle for a user and a distal end proximate to ground, pavement or other surface during the locate operation, wherein the location tracking system is coupled to the housing nearer to the proximal end than the distal end.
 32. The locate device of claim 27, wherein: the geographic information provided by the location tracking system includes at least one longitude coordinate, at least one latitude coordinate, and a corresponding geo-location data time stamp at which the at least one longitude coordinate and the at least one latitude coordinate are obtained by the location tracking system.
 33. The locate device of claim 27, wherein the magnetic field information further comprises at least one of: a magnitude of the detected magnetic field; a frequency of the detected magnetic field; an electric current associated with the detected magnetic field; a depth of the at least one underground facility; a gain associated with the at least one receiver antenna; and a selected operating mode for the apparatus, wherein the selected operating mode includes one of a peak detection mode and a null detection mode.
 34. The locate device of claim 27, wherein the locate information logged into the electronic record of the locate operation further comprises service-related information including at least one of: one or more identifiers for a locate technician performing the locate operation; a locate contractor dispatching the locate technician; and a party requesting the locate operation.
 35. The locate device of claim 27, wherein the locate information logged into the electronic record of the locate operation further comprises apparatus-related information including at least one of: a serial number for the locate device; a make or model number for the locate device; and a battery level of the locate device.
 36. An apparatus for detecting a presence or absence of an underground facility, the apparatus comprising: an actuator; at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the underground facility; a memory to store processor-executable instructions; and a processor coupled to the memory and the at least one receiver antenna, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the memory locate information relating at least in part to operation of the at least one receiver antenna, wherein: the processor is configured to log the locate information in the memory in response to at least one event based at least partially on a characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna; and the at least one event comprises one of: multiple events forming a pattern relating to the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna, wherein the processor is configured to log the locate information into the memory in response to the pattern; and a deviation from the pattern relating to the characteristic of the magnetic field detected by the at least one receiver antenna.
 37. An apparatus for generating an electronic record of locate information relating to a locate operation to detect a presence or an absence of at least one underground facility, the apparatus comprising: at least one receiver antenna to detect a magnetic field from the at least one underground facility, wherein the locate information includes magnetic field information based on the detected magnetic field, and wherein the magnetic field information comprises at least one of: a magnitude of the detected magnetic field; a frequency of the detected magnetic field; an electric current associated with the detected magnetic field; a depth of the at least one underground facility; a gain associated with the at least one receiver antenna; and a selected operating mode for the apparatus, wherein the selected operating mode includes one of a peak detection mode and a null detection mode; at least one input device to provide: geographic information regarding the locate operation, wherein the locate information further includes the geographic information; ticket information relating to a locate ticket, wherein the locate information further includes the ticket information, and wherein the ticket information comprises at least one of: location information for a work site at which the locate operation is performed; facility information relating to the at least one underground facility; a ticket number; ground type information; excavator information; and historical ticket information; and service-related information regarding the locate operation, wherein the locate information further includes the service-related information, and wherein the service-related information comprises at least one of: one or more identifiers for a locate technician performing the locate operation; a locate contractor dispatching the locate technician; and a party requesting the locate operation, a memory to store processor-executable instructions and the electronic record of the locate information relating to the locate operation; and a processor coupled to the memory, the at least one input device, and the at least one receiver antenna, wherein upon execution of the processor-executable instructions by the processor, the processor logs in the memory the locate information including the magnetic field information, the geographic information, the ticket information, the service-related information, and apparatus-related information including at least one of: a serial number for the apparatus; a make or model number for the apparatus; and a battery level of the apparatus. 